A symbolic visit. European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell assured Ukraine of the European Union ‘s “full support” in the face of the threat of Russian intervention, during a visit to the front line on Wednesday against pro – Russian separatists. .
“We are here first of all to reaffirm the full support of the European Union for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, said Josep Borrell at a press conference after his visit, together with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
Coordination “to work towards de-escalation”
“Any military aggression against Ukraine will have disastrous consequences and a significant cost,” he added, speaking in the village of Stanytsa Luganska, near the front line. “We are coordinating with the United States, NATO and other allies to work for de-escalation,” he said.
Dmytro Kuleba for his part underlined that the EU and Ukraine had a common objective in this crisis, “to achieve a de-escalation by diplomatic means so that Moscow reduces the tension and abandons its aggressive intentions”.
A first visit
This visit by Josep Borrell was the first to eastern Ukraine by a European diplomat since war broke out there almost eight years ago. Josep Borrell felt that the timing was right, because “the geopolitical landscape is changing very rapidly and the conflict at the borders of Ukraine is on the way to deepen”.
While Russia wants to link the Ukrainian crisis to NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe in talks with Washington, the representative from Brussels stressed that “any discussion on European security must involve the EU and Ukraine”.