War in Ukraine: Borrell (EU), “military support and more diplomatic efforts to achieve peace”. “Sanctions” against Russia “have a slow but sure effect”

“I do not like war. In order to achieve peace, we must continue supporting Ukraine militarily, more than we have done so far”, said the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, speaking at the plenary session in Strasbourg during the debate on sanctions against Russia. “We can help Ukraine militarily and, at the same time, make all diplomatic efforts to secure peace as soon as possible”, he added. “Let us provide them with more support and quickly step up our diplomatic efforts in the UN General Assembly. I will ask the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, whether he wants to start international negotiations - something everyone has failed to achieve up to now”. At the moment, “the situation on the battlefield is extremely worrying. There are over 360,000 Russian troops, twice as many as before the war”, he explained. With the tenth package of sanctions announced against Russia, “we are targeting the banking sector, access to dual-use technology, and advanced technologies. I am proposing to sanction almost 100 additional individuals and entities responsible for military activities, political decisions, propaganda, and disinformation”, he said. During the debate, the High Representative answered questions, stressing that “Europe must have a role” for the post-war period. “We must commit ourselves to the reconstruction of Ukraine. We will probably need new political leaders in Russia to support reconciliation. In Europe, it happened after World War II”. Borrell explained that “sanctions have a slow but sure effect, in line with what we had predicted”.
Valentina Bombelli