Putin's threats should be taken seriously, but EU to continue providing Ukraine with military support, impose sanctions against Russia – Borrell
The threats of Russian President Vladimir Putin should be taken seriously, but the EU will continue to provide Ukraine with military support and impose sanctions against the Russian Federation, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said.
"Certainly it's a dangerous moment because the Russian army has been pushed into a corner, and Putin's reaction - threatening using nuclear arms - it's very bad … I'm not bluffing. When people say it is not a bluff, you have to take them seriously," Borrel said in an interview with the BBC published on his Twitter page on Monday.
At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that the European Union will continue to provide Ukraine with military support, impose economic and personal sanctions against the Russian Federation.
“We are not escalating. People tell me: ‘What are you going to do?” “The only answer I have is all the same: military support, economic sanctions, personal sanctions and diplomatic activity,” Borrell explained.
He stressed that the war must be completed in a way that preserves the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
“We will do whatever we can in order to finish the war. But the war has to be finished in a way that preserves the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Otherwise, we can finish the war, but we will not have peace, and we will have another war,” Borrell said.
The EU's top diplomat noted that the weapons stocks in the EU countries are "not completely depleted," as he said earlier. “May be, it was an exaggeration from my side. Depleted means zero,” he explained.
“We were not prepared for a war. We didn’t have a big stock of arms because we have peace in our minds, and that’s good … Our factories will be able to produce more. We will continue providing arms to Ukraine,” Borrell stressed.
He noted the need to find a diplomatic solution.
“In order to dance tango, you need two. Everybody who has gone to Moscow, to the Kremlin to talk to Putin, they came back with the same answer, 'I [Putin] have military objectives, and if I don't get these military objectives I will continue the fight.' This is certainly a worrisome direction, but we have to continue to support Ukraine," he said.
