Borrell calls for “more weapons” for Ukraine and to include Russian oil in Western sanctions
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, insisted this Thursday that Ukraine needs “less applause and more weapons” and has opted to continue pressuring Russia with more sanctions, also on its oil, and international isolation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has “a lot of support, but what he really needs is more weapons, less applause and more weapons. Good words. Good. But the important thing is practical issues, more resources, more military capacity to resist aggression.” Russia”, Borrell highlighted upon his arrival at a foreign ministerial summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
A meeting in which the EU and Asia-Pacific countries participate as guests, in addition to Finland, Sweden and Ukraine and which, according to Borrell, seeks to continue “with our transatlantic operation and coordination to continue confronting Russian aggression in Ukraine.”
In this coordinated action against Russia, the Spanish politician has underlined the importance of increasing the sanctions against the Vladimir Putin regime, and that they also affect its oil exports, which do not yet appear in the fifth package of sanctions that they are expected to approve. this Thursday the ambassadors of the EU.
“Well, it is not in the fifth package of sanctions that are being discussed today. It is only as an objective, but it will be discussed on Monday in the Council of Foreign Ministers. And sooner or later, I hope soon, it will happen,” he said. Borrell. On this latest package of sanctions, which includes a ban on importing Russian coal, among other restrictions, Borrell added that the EU has followed a “progressive approach” and is now “accelerating”. Borrell has not referred to Russian gas, on which the European Union has a great dependence.
“We did not want to do everything at the same time, at the same time, but to do it taking into account the situation on the ground,” said the head of European diplomacy, after advancing that Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg will discuss more possible sanctions against Russia. Borrell has also underlined the importance of increasing the “isolation of Russia from the international community” in international institutions.
In this sense, he highlighted the “very important” vote that is scheduled to be held today at the United Nations to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. “It will be a difficult vote because it requires two-thirds of the vote, but I think it would be good” if it went ahead, he said, since “everyone knows the atrocities that have been discovered in Bucha and other places around kyiv” .
Precisely, Borrell is scheduled to travel to kyiv this Thursday, together with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “We will visit President Zelensky, the Foreign and Defense Minister, we will surely do so, no matter what happens there. And the important thing is to keep putting pressure on Russia and keep supporting Ukraine”, concluded Borrell. (EFE)