Russia poses most direct threat to world order, say EU leaders

TOKYO/LONDON • Top European officials warned yesterday that Russia poses the "most direct threat" to world order and urged China to play a more constructive role on the international stage, as they held talks in Tokyo.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel are in Japan for talks that have touched on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as growing concerns about China's role in Asia and beyond.

Russia "is today the most direct threat to the world order, with the barbaric war against Ukraine and its worrying pact with China", said Dr von der Leyen after talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The annual summit comes with much of the international community rallying to pressure Moscow over Ukraine.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, but it shakes the core of the international order including Asia. This must not be tolerated," said Mr Kishida, whose government has joined tough sanctions on Moscow, including on energy.

The meeting came even as Moscow imposed sanctions on the owner of the Polish part of the Yamal pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe, as well as the former German unit of Russian gas producer Gazprom, whose subsidiaries service Europe's gas consumption.

Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed on May 3 that no Russian entity would be allowed to make deals with those on the list.

Russia's Interfax news agency said these comprised Polish pipeline owner EuRoPol Gaz, Gazprom Germania and 29 Gazprom Germania subsidiaries in Switzerland, Hungary, Britain, France, Bulgaria, the Benelux region, the United States, Switzerland, Romania and Singapore.

At the meeting in Japan, Beijing's increasingly muscular stance in Asia was also on the agenda.

The European Union leaders said the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they termed a "theatre of tensions", warning of an increasingly assertive China, even as they called on Beijing to defend the multilateral global order.

"Our cooperation in Ukraine is critical in Europe, but it's also important in the Indo-Pacific and we also want to deepen our consultation on a more assertive China," said Mr Michel.

"China must stand up to defend the multilateral system that it has benefited from in developing its country."

Meanwhile, Dr von der Leyen said: "The Indo-Pacific is a thriving region. It is also a theatre of tensions."

She added: "Take the situation in the East and South China Sea and the constant threat of the DPRK (North Korea)."

"The European Union wants to take a more active role in the Indo-Pacific. We want to take more responsibility in a region that is so vital to our prosperity."

Both EU leaders warned of China's close relationship with Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation", and condemned unilateral moves to change the status quo in any region of the world.

Dr von der Leyen said the EU and Japan were stepping up cooperation, including launching a digital partnership that will focus on competitiveness and security.

She added that the two sides would also work on supply chains, which have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS