Josep Borrell: Latest News

BRUSSELS - The European Union agreed Sunday to close its airspace to Russian airlines, spend hundreds of millions of euros on buying weapons for Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in its latest response to Russia’s invasion, EU officials said.That and Germany’s announcement earlier in the day that it would almost triple its defense budget this year underscored how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was rewriting Europe’s post-World War II security and defense policy in ways that were unthinkable only a few weeks ago.In what he described as "a defining moment for European history," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers had greenlighted the unprecedented support for Ukraine and that those actions would take effect within hours."We have decided to use our capacities to provide lethal arms, lethal assistance, to the Ukrainian army by a value of 450 million (euros) ($502 million) … and 50 more million ($56 million) for non-lethal supplies, fuel, protective equipment," Borrell told reporters.The Russian invasion of Ukraine in its fourth day. A gas pipeline was destroyed in the city Kharkiv.

BRUSSELS - World leaders expressed a raw outrage shrouded by an impotence to immediately come to the aid of Ukraine to avoid a major war in Europe, condemning Russia’s attack on its neighbor as the European Union and others promised unprecedented sanctions to hit the Kremlin.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a "barbaric attack" on an independent nation that also targeted "the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order." The EU will hold an emergency summit in Brussels, where NATO is also meeting after Poland and the Baltic nations bordering Russia and Ukraine called for an urgent session.But no one promised to move in militarily and defend Ukraine as it could touch off a major European war. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned anyone listening that any interference would "lead to consequences you have never seen in history."So instead, most of the world — but not China — condemned and threatened to hit the Russian elites with, in the words of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, "the strongest package, the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented.""A major nuclear power has attacked a neighbor country and is threatening reprisals of any other states that may come to the rescue," Borrell said.

WASHINGTON - When Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized troops to cross Ukraine's border into regions controlled by Russian-backed separatists, the White House initially stopped short of calling it an invasion. That changed on Tuesday, and key allies in Europe joined in saying Putin had crossed a red line."This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," President Joe Biden said.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was equally explicit."We saw last night that further Russian troops moved into the Donbas into parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, " he said Tuesday, referring to the two areas of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned a massive cyber attack against Ukraine government websites on Friday, which warned Ukrainians to “be afraid and expect the worst.” It came as Kyiv and its allies have sounded the alarm about a possible new Russian military offensive against Ukraine.

Police fired water cannon and tear gas today at stone-throwing protesters after tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Brussels against Covid-19 rules.

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top diplomat is welcoming the Gaza cease-fire, but he says only a revival of long-term peace talks can ensure that such fighting does not flare up again in the future.

BRUSSELS – Five years after it was signed, the widely-criticized deal between the European Union and Turkey aimed at preventing migrants from entering Greece no longer works, but the Europeans insist it has served them well and will do so again. Not only that, they want to do similar deals in northern Africa.

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign ministers on Monday will look at options for imposing fresh sanctions against Russia over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as the 27-nation bloc considers the future of its troubled ties with the country.

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that the 27-nation bloc must take a firm stance in its future relations with Russia including through the use of new sanctions, in the wake of the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

European Union's top diplomat expressed hopes Friday that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Russia will soon be used across the 27-nation bloc.During a visit to Moscow, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the country’s Sputnik V vaccine is “good news for the whole mankind."Also Read | Vaccination drive picks up slowlyThe vaccine was approved by the Russian government in August and many foreign governments have expressed interest in buying doses.Russian scientists said it appears safe and effective against Covid-19, according to early results of an advanced study published in the British medical journal The Lancet.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has hailed the success of Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, and said he hopes it could be certified for use in the bloc. 

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign ministers on Monday debated the 27-nation bloc’s response to the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a weekend police crackdown that saw thousands taken into custody during protests in support of President Vladimir Putin’s most well-known critic.

BRUSSELS – The European Union said Thursday that the swearing in of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to a sixth term during a secretive ceremony lacks democratic legitimacy, defies the will of the Belarusian people and will only deepen the country’s political crisis.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reiterated that the 27-nation bloc did not recognize the result of the Aug.

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign ministers on Monday urged the United States to join a new effort to breathe life into long-stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but they rejected President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan as the basis for any international process.Trump’s proposal, which was unveiled in January, would foresee the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, but it falls far short of minimal Palestinian demands and would leave sizable chunks of the occupied West Bank in Israeli hands.Speaking after chairing video talks between the ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the Europeans “recognize the merit of the U.S.

The EU's chief diplomat says he has assured China's foreign minister that the bloc does not want a "cold war", as it accused Beijing of waging a coronavirus disinformation campaign.

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