EU 'disappears', Josep Borrell denies claims bloc has been passive over Ukraine-Russia crisis

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has dismissed claims that the bloc has been passive and has not acted on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Brussels was largely sidelined at the start of the crisis as senior officials from Washington and Moscow gathered in Geneva for talks.

Borrell, speaking in a European Parliament debate on the crisis in Ukraine, said criticism that the EU had "disappeared" was unfounded.

He told MEPs that EU countries had shown "extraordinary unity" and hailed the diplomatic efforts of France and Germany, whose leaders Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz both traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Russia deliberately tried to ignore the existence of the EU by sending letters only to the United States and NATO in December, considering that we are completely irrelevant and have nothing to say about security issues in Europe. For Moscow "Security in Europe is being defined in Washington," he said.

"Later, when they noticed that despite this negligent attitude, nothing was happening, Mr. Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) finally decided to send a letter to the 27 member states that he had so far ignored. "Why such a turn towards Russia?" He continued. "Because they realized that the European front was not cracked and the Atlantic solidarity was very strong."

The U.S. says Russia has deployed up to 150,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and Belarus, where Moscow is conducting joint military exercises scheduled for January 20.

Washington has warned of an imminent invasion, a claim Russia has repeatedly denied.

Moscow wants NATO membership ruled out for Ukraine and Georgia, and troops withdraw from several Eastern European countries, arguing that they threaten Russia's security.

The top EU diplomat stressed that "no one knows" what will happen next.

"There are encouraging signs, but also very disturbing events," he said, citing a Russian parliament resolution calling on Putin to recognize two separatist-held areas in eastern Ukraine as independent.

He stressed that the EU is "ready to act" with its sanctions if Russia invades, but that "above all we are ready to continue negotiations, to talk, in order to seek diplomatic solutions to the worst crisis that has ever occurred. "Europe has been living since the end of the Cold War."

"This crisis does not only affect Ukrainians, not only Europeans, but also the direction of humanity," he said.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, also tried to underline the bloc's common position in comments made before Borrell.

Source: Euronews