European Union member states have spent “too long” hesitating and debating whether to increase the levels of support provided to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief has said.
Foreign affairs ministers from EU states met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine and proposals to sanction Israel over its war on Gaza.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief representative on foreign affairs, said Russia’s heavy bombardment of Ukraine over the weekend showed President Vladimir Putin was not willing to negotiate.
Several EU ministers criticised German chancellor Olaf Scholz for speaking with Mr Putin on the phone in recent days, the first conversation the two leaders had had in nearly two years.
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Estonian minister for foreign affairs Margus Tsahkna said the phone call had not been co-ordinated with EU colleagues and gave the impression they were not united. “Putin has no plans to change his goals, so we need to stand very straight and clear, to support Ukraine,” he said.
Mr Borrell, speaking on his way into chair what will likely be his last meeting of foreign affairs ministers, similarly said the EU had too often been divided. “You cannot pretend to be a geopolitical power if you are taking days and weeks and months to reach agreements in order to act,” he said. Decisions to increase support for Ukraine in the war had always taken too long and been held up by countries hesitating.
There was broad welcome for an announcement by US president Joe Biden that Ukraine would now be allowed to use US-supplied long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russian territory for the first time. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called for western allies to lift restrictions put on long-range missiles donated to Ukraine.
Lithuanian minister for foreign affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis criticised the limitations put on Ukraine, which he said were part of a failed strategy to avoid escalating the conflict.
Foreign ministers discussed intelligence reports that suggested a factory in China was being used to produce drones for Russia to use on the battlefield in Ukraine. “The moment we have evidence we will react,” a senior EU official privately said about the alleged supply of drones from China to Russia.
The meeting also discussed a proposal from Mr Borrell for the EU to suspend “political dialogue” with Israel, that takes place as part of the bloc’s trade agreement with the country. In a letter to Taoiseach Simon Harris on Friday, Mr Borrell said the risk of a deepening “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, particularly in the north of the enclave, created a “special urgency” for the EU to act.
However, the proposal was not adopted. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Mr Borrell said most member states felt it was better for the EU to continue diplomatic and political dialogue with Israel.
Dutch minister for foreign affairs Caspar Veldkamp was heavily critical of the proposal and said he felt the door should be kept “open”. Mr Borrell had spent months pushing for “political dialogue” between the EU and Israel about Gaza, but now had made an “180 degree turn”, Mr Veldkamp said.
Ireland and Spain have been lobbying for the EU to review its trade agreement with Israel, given concerns about human rights abuses during the war in Gaza. To date there has been no movement on the call for a review, given any change to the trade agreement would need to be backed by all 27 member states. Hungary, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, who have been staunch supporters of Israel, would all likely oppose any move to review or suspend the trade deal.
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