Josep Borrell: “The Russians will soon develop famine diplomacy”

Published on: 04/20/2022 – 17:51Modified on: 04/20/2022 – 17:55 The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, who has returned from Ukraine, talks about the war led by Vladimir Putin. He reaffirms Europe’s political and military support for the Ukrainians and insists on the economic and energy consequences of this offensive. According to Josep Borrell, head of European diplomacy, Vladimir Putin “does not want negotiations, but wants to continue the war”. The High Representative of the EU insists on the importance of sanctions: “We should move very quickly towards an embargo on oil”. According to him, it is also necessary to diversify oil and gas purchases and look for alternatives. He adds that “at the moment, Europe receives more liquefied natural gas than from pipelines”. He does not rule out Vladimir Putin being convicted of war crimes in the future, but for now “it’s a war for the existence of Ukraine” and it is the Ukrainians who must be supported . From a diplomatic point of view, we must “counteract the Russian narrative” which accuses Western sanctions of being the cause of famine and which wants to dissuade certain countries in Africa, Asia or South America from supporting the point view of Westerners: “It is the Russians who are blocking Ukrainian wheat exports to Africa”. According to him, there will be “a diplomacy of food, as there was a diplomacy of masks and vaccines.” The economic and energy crisis is the consequence of Russian aggression in Ukraine and not of Western sanctions.