The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, He defended this Monday mobilizing all possible diplomatic tools to avoid a war in Ukraine, alluding to the possible summit that the leaders of the United States and Russia could hold.
“As many diplomatic tools as we could imagine should be mobilized,” said Borrell when asked by the press about this possible summit, upon arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in which they will address the Ukrainian crisis.
”Summits, meetings, at the level of ministers, at the level of leaders, whatever the format, the way of talking and sitting at the table, and trying to avoid a war, is very necessary and we support anything that can make diplomatic talks the best way, the only way, to find a solution to the crisis”, explained the Spanish politician.
The United States agreed this Sunday to hold a presidential summit with Russia, but made it a condition that the Russians not invade Ukraine first, and insisted that Everything indicates that this attack is “about” to happen.
Putin has also agreed to hold that summit with Biden, according to a statement from the office of French President Emmanuel Macron, who proposed that meeting to his two counterparts.
In any case, if diplomacy fails and Russia attacks Ukraine again, Borrell made it clear that they are ready to impose sanctions on Moscow.
“The work is done, we are ready,” he emphasized.
He said he would convene an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council and present the sanctions “at the right time.”
”When the time comes, I will convene an extraordinary meeting, because sanctions are a competence of the Council. It is important to know who decides what in the institutions”, he commented.
It is the Council “that makes those decisions at my proposal, and we are willing to do so when the time comes. And I hope and we are working so that the moment does not come”, Borrell clarified.
Asked if he excludes the scenario of a war, the head of community diplomacy replied that “I am working for it.”
Along the same lines, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has considered the possible summit between Biden and Putin to be “very good news”. “Spain wants to give priority to diplomacy and dialogue”, he assured, insisting that this is the way to reduce tension in Eastern Europe.
“There is nothing that we cannot discuss with Russia, but the dialogue must be serene”, the minister stressed, insisting that Moscow must withdraw troops, whose deployment at the gates of Ukraine is “unjustified”.
The ministers, before starting their Council, will hold a conversation with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitro Kuleba, with whom Borrell indicated that he had dinner last night and was able to hold a “long discussion on the situation on the ground”.
“We will continue to structure our support, think about our response and give all the guarantees we can that we continue to support Ukraine at the most critical moment, if it comes,” he said.
He assured that “I don’t see the minister nervous at all, on the contrary.”
He referred to the fact that the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, “He said that the worst enemy would be panic and they are not panicking. They are worried, they feel threatened, but I don’t see them being nervous at all,” he said.
In addition, Borrell drew attention to another item on the ministers’ agenda today: the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“The nationalist and separatist rhetoric is increasing in Bosnia Herzegovina and endangering the stability and even the integrity of the country,” he said, noting that “ministers have to make decisions on how to stop this dynamic and prevent the country from falling apart.” in pieces”.
(with information from EFE and EP)
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Source-www.infobae.com