BREST: European Union ministers said on Thursday that they would not negotiate with Russia over Ukraine’s future while Moscow was gathering colors at its neighbor’s border.
While stopping short of hanging President Vladimir Putin with a military response, defense and foreign ministers from the bloc said an irruption by Russia of Ukraine would prompt severe warrants and ruin Moscow’s relationship with the EU for decades.
“ Russian movements are part of the pressure,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defense and foreign ministers in Brest, France. There “ should not be concession under pressure,” he said. The meeting comes after tense accommodations between US and Russian officers in Geneva on Monday that failed to produce an agreement on de-escalating the conflict but saw both sides offer to continue talking.
“ We’ve entered assurances that nothing will be decided nor negotiated without the Europeans, and the collaboration with the Americans is absolutely excellent,” Borrell said.
He added at a news conference that “ despite what has been said, we’re in constant contact with the US, further than 100 connections this week”.
While there would be no formal joint resolution on the extremity, a political statement was likely when the foreign ministers’ meeting winds up on Friday, he said.
Read: NATO-Russia talks at an impasse amid ‘real risk’ of Ukraine war
Washington and its abettors have indicted Russia of planning an irruption after planting some colors along Ukraine’s border “ So far no shot has been fired, and no border crossed, and that’s a good thing,” said Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, as he arrived for the meeting.
“ It’s veritably clear that we will not, as Nato or as European Union, attack Russia,” Asselborn said, adding that dialogue was the way forward.
Still, also all doors will be slammed shut another 20 times, “ If there’s a military escalation. That can not be what Russia wants,” he said.
French Defence Minister Florence Parly agreed that “ dialogue is the only way to reduce these pressures sustainably” but said that the EU also stood ready to put “ massive warrants” on Russia should it attack Ukraine.
Read: Putin to mull options if West refuses guarantees over Ukraine
Before, US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party had formerly hovered warrants in the event of an irruption of Ukraine, including against Putin tête-à-tête, a move that the Kremlin said Thursday would be “ crossing a line”.
In Brest, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described the situation in Ukraine as “ dramatic” and said a common EU position on the extremity was pivotal.
“ When Europe is united, we ’re a heavyweight,” she said on appearance. “ When it isn’t, we punch below our weight.” The French EU administration has been pushing for the ministers to talk about pressures in Mali after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed to shutter land and air borders with Mali and put a trade prescription over belated choices.
The warrants — which France has backed — came after Mali’s army-dominated government last month proposed staying in power for over to five times before restoring the republic. France has thousands of colors in Mali and neighboring Sahel countries as part of its anti-jihadist force.
