The European Union (EU) is viewing the unilateral ceasefire announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin with “skepticism”, suspecting it is another “hypocrisy” by Moscow, which is “trying to buy time”, he said on Friday . of European diplomacy.
Addressing the press on the sidelines of a visit to Morocco, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell asked about the 36-hour ceasefire declared by Putin on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas. replied that it “is not credible” as it is rather an attempt to “buy time to regroup his troops” and “repair his badly damaged international reputation”.
“The Kremlin lacks any credibility and this declaration of desire for a unilateral ceasefire is not credible. What happens to all of us is skepticism, despite so much hypocrisy” of the Russian authorities, Borrell stated on the sidelines of a visit to the Moroccan city of Fez, quoted by international news agencies.
On Thursday, Putin ordered Russian troops fighting in Ukraine to observe a 36-hour ceasefire, between noon on January 6 and midnight on January 7, in response to a call from the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church, Cyril.
Hours later, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of “using Christmas as a disguise” to stop the advance of the Ukrainian army. and regroup their troops, while several other world leaders are also downplaying the ceasefire announcement, as was the case with US President Joe Biden, according to whom Putin is trying to “catch his breath”.
“He (Putin) was ready to bomb hospitals, kindergartens and churches (…) on December 25 and New Year (…) I think he is trying to catch his breath,” Biden said.
After the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock, also rejected the Russian president’s announcement, saying that “if Putin wanted peace, he would withdraw his soldiers and the war would end,” the Foreign Minister also, João Gomes Cravinho, this Friday downplayed the 36-hour ceasefire announced by Putin, noting that Moscow must “order a final ceasefire and withdraw its troops”.
“It is difficult to see this decision to make a 36-hour ceasefire as anything other than an exercise in cynicism and a tactical maneuver to buy time and impress international public opinion. .” he said, speaking to the Lusa agency on the sidelines of the annual seminar of the Instituto Camões in Lisbon.
The Russian military offensive was launched on February 24 last year to, according to Putin, “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security.
The invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN presented 6,919 dead civilians and 11,075 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the actual ones.
Source: DN
