The European Union on Monday denied accusations by Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva that he is fomenting war in Ukraine, after he singled out Europe and the United States for arms shipments during his trip to China, while reminding Brazil that Ukraine would be destroyed without such military aid.
»It is not true that the European Union and the United States help to prolong the war, what is true is that Ukraine is the victim of an illegal aggression and that the European Union and the United States help it in its defense because otherwise Ukraine would face destruction as a country and nation. This is Vladimir Putin’s declared intention,» said EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano at a press conference in Brussels.
EU diplomacy has reminded Brazil that Russia is »solely responsible» for the aggression against Ukraine and that there is no doubt who is the aggressor and who is the victim in the Ukrainian conflict. »What the United States and the European Union are doing is helping Ukraine to exercise its right to defend itself,» the spokesman said.
After Lula da Silva assured that Washington has to »stop encouraging war» and »start talking about peace», moment in which he urged the EU to help in diplomatic efforts to sit Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski at the same table, Stano rejected the criticism for lack of peace initiatives, indicating that even before the war broke out in February 2022 the bloc »offered on different occasions possibilities to deal with Russia’s concerns in a civilized way at a table».
Many actors have since tried diplomatic processes, the EU diplomacy spokesman recalled, noting that Moscow has responded to these offers by redoubling attacks on civilians in Ukraine and instrumentalizing energy, food security and the nuclear issue.
Thus, Stano concluded by saying that the EU supports a peace as soon as possible, but in which Ukraine sets the conditions for any process to put an end to the Russian aggression against its territory and population.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
