The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs declared on Tuesday that the continued insistence from Russia on stopping NATO's expansion towards its borders was "completely unacceptable."
On Tuesday, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called the repeated claims of Russia on stopping NATO's eastwards expansion completely unacceptable.
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In an interview for Welt, a German newspaper, Josep Borrell refers to the document released earlier this month by Moscow, in which it listed the promises it wants to get from NATO and the U.S. government. The proposal included guarantees that NATO's bloc won't continue its expansion and the removal of all the armament around Russia's borders.
Borrell considers this is the first time Russia has put its agenda on the table, something that, according to the EU, only winners can do. He noted that there is no way the right of a state to decide on its alliances would be negotiable. "We cannot compromise on fundamental principles," he stated.
Borrell claims that the EU must participate in the negotiation for security in Europe, as Moscow sent a proposal on talks about European security only to the U.S. and NATO, excluding Brussels.
Discussed with @trussliz developments on Russian military build up. Reiterated support to #Ukraine’s sovereignty & territorial integrity. Immediate priority is to avoid further escalation. Any discussion about European security must happen in coordination with+participation of EU
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) December 28, 2021
"If Moscow ... wants to talk about the security architecture in Europe and about security guarantees starting in January, this is not just a matter for America and Russia. We do not want to and must not be uninvolved spectators over whose heads decisions are being made," insisted the diplomat.
Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmitry Kuleba, suggested last month that Kiev should also participate in the negotiations.
"Decisions on Ukraine's security can only be made with Ukraine at the table and with the EU at the table on matters of wider European security," twitted Kuleba.
#EuropeanUnion The EU is getting ever closer to allowing a treatment for Covid-19 that is not a vaccine pic.twitter.com/b6VG4xiHMM
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) November 12, 2021