The head of diplomacy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, considered this Tuesday that the president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, cultivated in his recent visit to Beijing “the same strategic ambiguity as China” regarding the aggression of Russia against Ukraine.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, in a debate on “the need for a coherent strategy for EU-China relations”, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy reiterated that one of the main issues that separates the parties is their position. on the war in Ukraine, noting that it is not only Beijing that has a complacent position towards Russia, “the aggressor”.
Borrell recalled that, already this month, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, “went to Beijing and told the president [chinês] xi [Jinping] who expects him to help call [o Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin to reason, but the truth is that President Xi does not believe that President Putin has lost his mind”, and he is not the only one who thinks so.
“On the contrary, he [Xi] he thinks that Putin has reasons, which he shares. With the [Putin] and with many of his visitors, such as President Lula, who was recently in Beijing and cultivated the same strategic ambiguity as China” regarding the conflict, without making a distinction between the aggressor and the victim, said the head of European diplomacy at the time.
The high representative, who spoke on behalf of the Council – while presiding over the work of the 27 in the area of Foreign Affairs – recalled that the message from the European Union, which he did not have the opportunity to convey in Beijing last week, since it had to cancel the planned trip to China for having contracted covid-19, “it is clear” and without equivocation.
Defending once again that “China must use its influence with Russia to convince Moscow” to put an end to an aggression that violates all international norms, Josep Borrell stressed that “any neutrality that does not distinguish between the aggressor and the aggressor is to position oneself on the side of the aggressor”.
“We have said it many times and we will continue to say it,” declared the Spanish official.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defended on Saturday, after a visit to Beijing, that the United States should stop “fomenting the war” in Ukraine and the European Union should “start talking about peace” and stop supplying weapons, “which encourage the war”, statements that provoked various criticisms, including in Portugal, where the Brazilian president will be next week, on the occasion of April 25.
On Monday, the European Commission had already rejected the accusations made by the Brazilian president.
“It is not true that the US and the EU are helping to prolong the conflict. The truth is that Ukraine is the victim of an illegal aggression, a violation of the Charter of the United Nations,” said the spokesman for the community executive for Foreign Affairs and Policy of Security, Peter Stano, at a press conference in Brussels.
The spokesman added that “it is true that the EU, the US and other partners are helping Ukraine in its legitimate defense”, since the other option would be “the destruction of Ukraine”.
“As far as peace initiatives are concerned, the EU supported them long before [Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin decided to launch this slaughter against the Ukrainian population (…), the response was the unfortunate aggression of February last year”, stressed the spokesman for the European Commission.
The United States also considered on Monday that Brazil is repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda “without taking the facts into account.”
“In this specific case, Brazil is repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda, without taking the facts into account,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly linked to the US president.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
In his speech in the Strasbourg chamber, Borrell nevertheless defended that the EU must maintain dialogue with China, above all because “China is not Russia, it is a superpower, which is growing and is present in all parts of the world”. his influence being “considerable” and his political power “growing”.
“Although it is not a democracy, we cannot stop talking to China and together seek solutions to major global problems. Today’s challenges force us to work together. We must continue to talk to China because of its colossal influence in the world,” he said. saying.
Source: TSF
