As of: 01/24/2022 8:53 p.m
In contrast to the USA, the EU states do not want to reduce their embassy staff in Ukraine for the time being. That’s what EU foreign policy chief Borrell said after a conference with US Secretary of State Blinken. At the same time he warned against alarmism.
In contrast to the USA, Great Britain and Australia, the European Union currently sees no reason to ask embassy staff and family members of diplomats to leave Ukraine. “There is no need for us to take such precautionary measures,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell after a video conference between European foreign ministers and US department head Antony Blinken.
The USA had previously announced that it would reduce its embassy presence in Kiev in view of the tense situation in the Ukraine conflict. These are “precautionary measures,” said a senior US State Department official. However, the embassy in Kiev will remain open.
After the conversation with Blinken, Borrell also said that the US decision was not about an “evacuation” of the embassies in Kiev. Washington, London and Canberra only allowed non-essential personnel to leave the country freely, according to the Spaniard.
Alarmism warning
At the same time, Borrell warned against alarmism and stressed that efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict would be continued. “You have to stay calm and do what is necessary but avoid a nervous breakdown,” he said. Should a diplomatic solution not succeed, the EU is well prepared for a response to Russian aggression. This also applies to a cyber attack on Ukraine.
The conference of EU foreign ministers also discussed further sanctions against Russia should there be an attack on Ukraine. However, the ministers could not agree on a possible exclusion of Russia from the Swift international banking system – probably also because Germany was against it, as an EU diplomat told the AFP news agency.
The EU foreign ministers could not agree on excluding Russia from the Swift international banking system as a possible sanction.
Image: AP
Latvia and Australia warn against travel
Meanwhile, Latvia advised its citizens not to travel to Ukraine. “If it is necessary to visit Ukraine, we invite you to register in the consular register of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Facebook. In addition, the embassy staff in Kiev will be brought to safety if necessary.
The Australian government has urged all Australians in Ukraine to leave the country commercially now and be aware that flights could be changed or suspended at short notice. Relatives of Australian diplomats would be flown out of the capital Kiev, it said. The travel warning for the country was raised to the highest level “because of the risk of armed conflict”.
Johnson warns Putin against invading Ukraine
Great Britain also announced that it would withdraw employees from its embassy in Kiev due to the worsening situation. In response to the growing threat from Russia, some employees and relatives would be recalled from the embassy, the Foreign Office said in London.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against invading Ukraine: “We have to make it very clear to the Kremlin, Russia, that it would be a disastrous step,” Johnson said in Milton Keynes. From a Russian perspective, too, this would be a “painful, violent and bloody affair,” the prime minister warned. He announced that he would speak to international partners.
Federal Foreign Office exempts relatives from leaving the country
The Federal Foreign Office allows family members of German embassy staff in Ukraine to decide whether to leave the country. The return trip to Germany can be done on a voluntary basis, said a spokesman.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had previously announced that the German embassy staff and their families would remain in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, although the situation would “of course be constantly evaluated”.
Kiev speaks of “excessive caution”
Ukraine has described the reduction in US embassy staff in Kiev as “excessive caution” on the part of the United States. “We consider such a step by the American side to be premature,” said the Foreign Ministry in Kiev. The security situation has “not fundamentally changed”.
Russia had massed more than 100,000 soldiers on the Ukrainian border in the past few weeks. The West therefore fears a major Russian attack on the neighboring country. Moscow denies any invasion plans and demands security guarantees from the USA and NATO.
It is Russia’s declared goal, for example, that NATO refrain from further eastward expansion and withdraw its armed forces from eastern alliance states. NATO and the EU reject these demands as unacceptable.