European Union (EU) diplomacy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday believed Brazil’s President Lula da Silva was cultivating “the same strategic ambiguity as China” regarding the aggression of China during his recent visit to Beijing. Russia against Ukraine.
Speaking to 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 Affairs and Security Policy reiterated that one of the main issues facing the dividing sides, his stance is on the war in Ukraine, pointing out that it is not only Beijing that takes a complacent stance on Russia, “the aggressor”.
Borrell recalled that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, already went to Beijing this month and told the president [chinês] Xi [Jinping] who hopes he will help call [o Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin to reason, but the truth is that President Xi doesn’t think President Putin has lost his mind,” and he’s not alone in thinking that.
“On the contrary, he [Xi] thinks Putin has reasons, which he shares. With him [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 distinguishing between the aggressor and the attacked,” said the then head of European diplomacy .
The High Representative, speaking on behalf of the Council – as he presides over the work of the 27 in the field of foreign affairs – recalled that the European Union’s message, which he was unable to convey in Beijing last week, when he left the planned trip to China had to cancel due to contracting covid-19, “is clear” and without ambiguities.
Josep Borrell once again defends that “China must use its influence with Russia to convince Moscow” to end an aggression that violates all international rules, emphasizing that “any neutrality that does not distinguish between the aggressor and the attacked position yourself on the side of the aggressor”.
“We have said it many times and we will continue to say it,” said the Spanish official.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after a visit to Beijing on Saturday, defended that the United States should stop “encouraging war” in Ukraine and that the European Union should “start talking about peace” and stop supplying weapons, “encouraging war”, statements that provoked several 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 President of Brazil.
“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 of the Community Director for Foreign Affairs. Affairs and Security Policy, Peter Stano, at a press conference in Brussels.
The spokesman added that “it is true that the EU, US and other partners are helping Ukraine in its legitimate defense”, as the other option would be “the destruction of Ukraine”.
As for peace initiatives, the EU has supported them long before that [Presidente russo, Vladimir] Putin decided to launch this massacre against the Ukrainian people (…), the answer was the unfortunate aggression of February last year,” the European Commission spokesman stressed.
The United States also believed on Monday that Brazil is repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda “without regard to the facts”.
“In this particular case, Brazil is repeating Russian and Chinese propaganda without regard to the facts,” stressed John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly affiliated with 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).
Nevertheless, in his hemisphere speech in Strasbourg, Borrell defended that the EU should continue dialogue with China, not least because “China is not Russia, it is a superpower, growing and present in all parts of the world” , with his influence “significantly” and his political power “growing”.
“Even if it is not a democracy, we cannot stop talking to China and jointly look for solutions to major global problems. The current challenges force us to work together. We must continue to talk to China because of its enormous influence in the world” , he said. said.
Source: DN
