BRUSSELS Nov. 12 () –
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, urged the member states of the bloc this Tuesday to make decisions to guarantee long-term support for Ukraine in the face of the new scenario that opens with the return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States starting in January.
“There is a diplomatic situation in the world, which has been accentuated by the fact that there is a new scenario with the new American president. This creates a situation in which the Americans, on the one hand, and the Europeans, on the other, have to make the decision to continue supporting Ukraine to confront Russian aggression,” said the head of European diplomacy in statements from Poland, after his visit to Ukraine, where he was able to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After Donald Trump’s return to the White House has precipitated the debate on long-term military supplies and possible peace negotiations, Borrell has urged the 27 to take responsibility for supporting Ukraine and not wait for the steps it takes. the American president.
“We cannot be in a situation in which the United States acts and the Europeans react. We have to assume our own responsibility and assure Ukraine that our support will continue,” he stated, calling on the Europeans to strengthen their commitment to kyiv since Europe “cannot afford” a Russian victory on the Ukrainian stage.
In this sense, the High Representative, who will end his mandate in weeks if the European Parliament confirms the new European Commission in time, has insisted that “measures” and “determination” are needed to agree on the financial means necessary to consolidate support long term to kyiv.
For all these reasons, faced with the current situation in which the Russian Army advances in the Donbas and Washington’s military support may falter, Borrell has asked to make quick decisions and act with agility, understanding that the debate on support for Ukraine does not It may drag on for the next few months. “We cannot continue for months and months with the pending question without giving a clear answer to the Ukrainians,” he concluded.
In this sense, together with the Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, he has announced that he will bring the issue to the next meeting of EU ministers, so that the EU can begin to design its strategy of continued support for Ukraine.
“Europeans need to be clear about what they want to do in any circumstance. Whatever the scenario, we have to have a response,” he explained regarding the meeting of foreign and defense ministers next week in Brussels.
According to the Polish Foreign Minister, the question now that the EU has to answer is whether it is capable of giving kyiv the means to resist during 2025. “We need serious conversations about this,” he pointed out, after indicating that there are already different initiatives being discussed between Member States to ensure this support.
For Sikorski, the war in Ukraine will end the moment Russia stops attacking the neighboring country, which is why he has urged that the EU use its means to “persuade” Putin that it cannot win the war and that he will have to sit down to negotiate a “fair agreement”. “To do this we need to support Ukraine,” he summarized.
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