The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Josep Borrell, said on Friday that Europe must “arm itself morally”, “protect itself economically” and “prepare for the worst” after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The head of European diplomacy recalled that Europe has had to face conflicts and wars after the Second World War, as was the case after the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, but considers that no conflict on European soil had been this serious.
“Faced with this situation, the most dangerous that we have faced in Europe since the end of the cold war, we have to arm ourselves morally, protect ourselves financially and prepare for the worst, constantly raising the level of our deterrent capacity and our power of retaliation political and military”, he writes in a forum published today by the evening paper Le Monde.
The European official indicated that Europe “does not want a confrontation with the Russian people”, both united by strong historical and cultural ties, and praised the behavior of the Russian citizens who have protested against this aggression.
“This situation probably involves a long and difficult confrontation with a determined aggressor, hell-bent on ensuring his survival,” he noted.
For Borrell, the root of the matter lies in the “increasingly authoritarian nature of Vladimir Putin’s regime” and in his “deep conviction that the extension of freedom and democracy to its borders would constitute an existential threat to its power. ».
“This is a premeditated end to Ukraine’s democratic playground,” he added.