The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has insisted the European Union is ‘not fighting against Russia’ but ‘defending Ukraine’ during a high-level State of the Union event in the Italian city of Florence, euronews.com informs.
Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Borrell said: “I don’t like at all the story of the West against Russia or the West against the rest…this is an issue about the Charter of the United Nations. It’s about the sovereignty of the people of states, the respect for the borders not to use force to override their neighbour.
“We are not fighting against Russia. We are defending Ukraine. And, defending Ukraine means to defend the international order based on rules. Otherwise, it will be the law of the jungle,” he added.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs also told Euronews’ Meabh Mc Mahon that it was important to differentiate between Russia and Putin.
“We don’t have anything against the Russian people. It’s about one regime, one political system, one person. This is one person’s war. So, yes, we want to weaken Putin, but we don’t want to push the Russian people against the border of history. One way or another they have to be part of a peaceful settlement and a peaceful security system in Europe.”
Europe becomes ‘a geopolitical actor’
Borrell was joined on stage by former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. Both men agreed that the war represented a historical turning point for Europe.
“I think this is the moment in which the European Union behaves as a geopolitical actor taking decisions, also on the military side, on the energy side, using the language of power,” Borrell said.
Praising the speed with which European leaders reacted in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, Stubb said: “I think the European Union moved from a regulator, or regulatory superpower, to an actor. And it’s really good to see how quickly it happened. You know, it was an actor in the euro crisis, but it took a few years. It was an actor during COVID, but it took a few months. When the war came, it actually took only a few days. And we were able to reverse a lot of things.”
