Ukraine/Russia: Speech by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the EP Plenary on the situation at the border

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Mr President, dear Honourable Members,

We changed the geographical situation. We changed the latitude and the longitude of the coordinates, but the problem is also very worrying. Now we talk about the situation in the Ukrainian border and in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. 

I have been talking a lot about it during this weekend in Liverpool, together with my fellow colleagues of the G7, the biggest democracies in the world. I have been talking a lot with Secretary of State [of the United States, Antony] Blinken and we will talk a lot about it in the next European Union Council. We talked yesterday also about it with my fellow Ministers of Foreign Affairs. 

I think I have all the information I may have in order to come here to discuss with you about the Russian military build-up around Ukraine. 

First, facts. 

Since November, Russia has been massing troops and weapons in an unusual manner around Ukraine’s borders. Ukraine is our direct neighbour and border. It is also a close and strategic partner. So it is normal that we are worried about this movements of Russian troops. 

I had the opportunity also to talk about this with the Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov, during the OSCE Meeting in Stockholm and with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Ukraine [Dmytro Kuleba]. In the OSCE meeting in Stockholm, we witnessed a lively exchange of views between Minister Lavrov and Secretary of State Blinken about this issue. 

We at the European Union maintain regular contacts with President [of Ukraine, Vladimir] Zelensky, Prime Minister [Denys] Shmyhal, and Foreign Minister Kuleba. We express at all levels our political support to Ukraine. We publicly recall our unwavering support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

According to the Russian sources, nothing happened. They are only moving their troops inside their territory; they are not violating any international law, nor any constitutional internal rule. Certainly, they are moving troops inside their borders but, with the precedent, with what has happened between Ukraine and Russia, it is quite justified that the Ukrainians are worried and that we have to express our political support. 

But today we are on prevention mode. Today we are trying to avoid further escalation. And to work on all avenues that we can, in order to deter further Russian effort. Today we are in a deterring-mode, prevention-mode, dissuasion-mode. In order to avoid the crisis to escalate, and to reach a level of a military conflict. We are doing what we can for that. 

Yesterday at the Foreign Affairs Council, our members reiterated our support to Ukraine. And also, we have recently adopted a set of assistance measures under the European Peace Facility, a new financial tool which is under my political implementation authority, in supporting Ukrainian armed forces in areas including the provision of military, medical, engineering equipment, mobility, logistics and cyber-defence support. Not providing lethal arms, but on all the fields that an army requires in order to be operational. This is a tangible way of showing our support to strengthening Ukrainian resilience and also, our support to the Ukrainian reform agenda since 2014. Because the reforms inside Ukraine are an important component of Ukrainians overall resilience to external challenges. The better the Ukrainian democracy works, the higher quality they have on fighting internal problems, the stronger they will be in facing external challenges.

We have today to talk about an attempt to undermine further Ukrainian territorial integrity, which was jeopardised when Russia took over Crimea. And this would come, if it happens again, in severe political consequences and with a high political and economic cost for Russia, if this was the case.

We have to act in unity, we are coordinating closely with our transatlantic and like-minded partners.  We did that on Sunday. Our G7 statement was clear in this position: we called on Russia to de-escalate, to pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments of transparency of military activities as President [of the United Sates, Joe] Biden also did in his call with President [of Russia, Vladimir] Putin on 7 December.

In the meantime, we are in deterring, dissuasion, prevention-mode, we continue to do a full diplomatic outreach. We reconfirm our support to France and Germany in the Normandy Format to achieve full implementation of the Minsk Agreements in order to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. We are studying the different scenarios that one could imagine could happen in the following days or weeks. We recall [that] Russia’s responsibility in implementing the Minsk Agreements remains a key issue.

We will continue demonstrating again that we do not hesitate to take action when needed, by imposing restrictive measures against the Russia-based Wagner Group. I want to raise your attention to the fact that these restrictive measures have already been taken by the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday. I know that for the Russian authorities, the Wagner group is a private company, as private as one that could produce sweets, but in any case we consider that we have to show our strong determination to stand up for our interests and values in our neighbourhood and beyond.

Honourable Members, Ukraine has the right to make its own foreign and security policy choices. It is an independent and sovereign country. And we respect fully those choices. Since the starting point of the conflict almost eight years ago, we have been steadfast by Ukraine’s side. 

Furthermore, Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts to keep the illegal annexation of Crimea high on the international agenda, including through the launch of the International Crimean Platform, are welcome and will be supported. 

Tomorrow, at the Eastern Partnership Summit we will have another occasion to stress that there is room for enhanced cooperation between the European Union and its Eastern partners, as well as for gradual convergence in the area of foreign and security policy, in line with partners’ commitments with the European Union.

Strengthening partners’ strategic communication capabilities will be an important element of building resilience, including the fight against disinformation and information manipulation and there is a lot, as you very well know.

We are expecting the best and preparing for the worst. Should the situation in Ukraine deteriorate, there should be no doubt that we would be ready to respond. For the time being, we do not want to contribute to any kind of escalation. We want to be on this prevention-mode, that is the work of diplomacy, to try to study the different scenarios to have an answer prepared for each one of them, and making clear there will be an answer for anyone of them they happen.

Allow me to finish with these words: Expect the best and be prepared for the worst.  

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-215505  

Closing remarks

Mr President, thank you very much.

I am sorry for having been unable to follow the whole debate. I had to receive Ghana’s President [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo]. But, my friend and colleague, Janez [Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management] has been representing the Commission and attending your participation in this debate.

From what I have heard, it is enough for me to take a stock of these discussions. And I can tell you that based on this discussion, we will continue to take steps to increase our deterrence, as I said in the beginning of my intervention, and avoid any kind of military action to start happening. To be prepared for the worst and to expect the best, as I said in my previous intervention.

What does it mean? After listening to all of you, that means we, the Parliament, the Commission, the High Representative, the European Union Council, all governments of the Member States would send a united, and strong message to the Russian leadership indicating that we are ready to respond decidedly to any kind military actions against Ukraine, should it happen.

To send an equally clear message of commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We should also reconfirm our support to achieve full implementation of the Minsk Agreements in order to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

And third, to continue in close coordination and cooperation with our transatlantic and like-minded partners, as we did in Liverpool at the G7 meeting.

Allow me to stress the fact that the challenges that Ukraine is facing go well beyond the military dimension, at least the classical military dimension. They are part of a wider hybrid concerted aggression - which also involves energy, disinformation and cyber-attacks to mention just some of the new characteristics of these new challenges. Therefore, we will spare no effort to help to further strengthen the resilience of Ukraine – people, government - across all sectors - such as democracy, human rights, rule of law, people-to-people contacts, trade, energy, cyber security, environment, public health and countering disinformation.

This is our commitment and I am very happy to see that in this Parliament everybody – or almost everybody, with a very few exceptions – are closely supporting this approach.

Thank you.

Link to the video: EC AV PORTAL (europa.eu)