EU’s Borrell, in Washington, says outcome of Ukraine war will be decided this spring and summer
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell (right) meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) at the State Department in Washington, on March 13, 2024.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON - The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on March 14, after holding meetings in Washington, that securing new support for Ukraine could not wait since the outcome of the war in Ukraine will be decided in the spring and summer of 2024.
Amid doubts over continuing United States military aid to Kyiv, Mr Borrell told reporters that his message for US policymakers was that: “Whatever has to be done, it has to be done quickly.”
“It’s true for us. We have to speed up. We have to increase our support, to do more and quicker. That’s why we are increasing our industrial defence capacities. And it is also true for the US,” Mr Borrell said, of Europe’s efforts to support Ukraine’s push against Russian invasion.
“The next months will be decisive. Many analysts expect a major Russian offensive this summer, and Ukraine cannot wait until the result of the next US elections,” he added.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has backed military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, while his likely Republican opponent in the Nov 5 US election, former president Donald Trump, has a more isolationist stance.
Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of Trump, has so far refused to call a vote on a Bill that would provide US$60 billion (S$79 billion) more for Ukraine. REUTERS
