High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has been increasing his contact with partner countries and organisations the last few days.
Before he listens to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Foreign Affairs Council on 24 January, Mr Borrell met with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly in Brussels on Thursday, 20 January.
“We share the deep concern about the provocations, that Russia’s military is building up on the Ukrainian border”, Mr Borrell reiterated in front of the media. “We consider this massing of troops in the Ukrainian border as something that [...] is a threat and can be a big danger, and we are working together with the allies in order to be ready to implement an answer—which will be very costly for Russia—if there is any kind of aggression against Ukraine”, warned the High Representative once again, calling on Russia to de-escalate the situation.
Mrs Joly specified that her country was working on sanctions, particularly in the financial sector, and that she would continue to work with the EU on these measures, if necessary.
Mrs Joly also called for dialogue, believing that it is necessary to find diplomatic means to handle this threat. She added, “diplomatic dialogue must be further pursued through all diplomatic channels”.
On the evening of Wednesday, 19 January, Mr Borrell had participated in an initial quadrilateral meeting with Mr Blinken, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Mariusz Błaszczak, representing Poland’s Chairmanship of the OSCE, to discuss the situation in Ukraine and European security architecture. They emphasised their determination to continue intense consultations so as to identify ways to resolve the situation, according to a press release from the European External Action Service.
Last week in Brest, EU foreign ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation with the United States, the OSCE, and NATO and had asked the High Representative to coordinate these activities (see EUROPE 12869/2). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)