Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Union is directly engaged in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which will decide its geopolitical future, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said.
How Will the Ukraine Conflict Shape Europe’s Geopolitical Future?
Josep Borrell spoke on a discussion about EU enlargement during the ‘Quo Vadis Europa?’ seminar in Santander, Spain. The annual affair has been hosted by the Menendez y Pelayo International University (UIMP) since 2013. “What is happening in Ukraine will determine the geopolitical future of Europe,” Borrell stated.
“We must think about Ukraine when we become parties in the game. We are part of this game. We are not a party to the war, but we are part of the battle, and how this conflict is resolved will affect peace and our security,” he contended.
The ex-Spanish foreign minister has acted as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since December 2019. Borrell has previously supported the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, called it “a severe collision to Russian President (Vladimir) Putin’s narrative,” and advised the West to lift all restrictions on Kyiv’s use of weapons, as this would “help advance peace actions.”
Russia has repeatedly blamed the US and its allies for open involvement in the dispute, but the collective West has always insisted on providing Ukraine with over $100 billion in money, weapons, ammunition, and supplies – while seizing Russian assets and levying sweeping economic sanctions – did not make it a party to the hatreds.
What Are the Implications of EU’s Engagement in the Ukraine War According to Borrell?
Josep Borrell has a history of articulating the assertion that the EU has been using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia. In April, he told the World Economic Forum conference in Saudi Arabia that “Europeans will not go to die for the Donbas,” but are dedicated to funding Ukrainians indefinitely.
In March, he briefed CNN that US and EU involvement is “not a matter of sustaining Ukraine because we love Ukrainian people,” but in the interest of the US “as a global player, someone who has to be sensed as a reliable partner, a security provider to the allies.” Putin has conveyed the Western position as cynical, blaming the US and its allies for wanting to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian.”
