The European External Action Service’s Deputy Secretary-General Enrique Mora visited Moscow on Tuesday, 18 January, to meet with Russian officials in order to discuss relations between the EU and Russia, foreign policy issues, and European security architecture.
“Principles reiterated by EU foreign ministers last Friday in Brest are at the core of the EU position”, Mr Mora stated by way of reminder (see EUROPE 12869/2).
During a hearing before MEPs on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence the day before, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell explained that this visit was not specifically about the situation at the Ukrainian border. “In the regular context that we have with Russia, there are a lot of things to talk about”, he added. Thus, the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program could be addressed.
Mr Borrell called for dialogue with Russia. “We have to continue talking with Russia. ‘Oh, they have 100,000 soldiers [at the Ukrainian border]’: it should not prevent us from continuing to have discussions with Russia. [...] I don’t think it would be a good idea to stop talking with Russia. We’ll continue participating in the talks because it’s the only way to try to de-escalate and to try to look for solutions”, he explained.
The High Representative also felt that another Russian attack in Ukraine was not imminent. “We believe that [...] as far as the military deployment of Russia has [...] not yet been completed, the possibility of a massive attack against Ukraine is not the most probable scenario. There are other ways of attacking, like the cyberattacks”, he explained. While the EU offered to help Kiev cope with last week’s cyberattack, “the Ukrainian government has not required direct assistance, but we are ready to do it if requested”, clarified Mr Borrell (see EUROPE 12869/2).
The head of EU diplomacy also said he was “increasingly worried” about the situation in the areas that are not controlled by the Ukrainian government, which “are driving further apart from Ukraine, pulled by the Kremlin’s enhanced efforts”. In his view, this situation concerns a de facto integration with Russia, and the concentration of troops is certainly related to this integration.
Reminding MEPs that the Helsinki Final Act dates back to 1975 and that the world has changed since then, Mr Borrell also felt that it might be a good idea to review Europe’s security architecture. “To review the security architecture in Europe is not a crazy idea; it can be done and profitable for everybody”, he explained, adding that if this is Russia’s aim, then Russia must change its agenda and increase the number of actors participating in the process of reviewing the security system. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)