Special meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers kicks off amid Ukraine-Russia war

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – EU foreign ministers are holding an extraordinary meeting on Friday in Brussels with the NATO chief and top diplomats from Ukraine, the US, UK and Canada to discuss their response to the Ukraine-Russia war.

“This is (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s war, and it is for Putin to end it. We remain united in order to ask to stop the war, stop killing innocent civilians,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in a joint doorstep speech with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

Blinken stressed that the EU and US have been coordinating strongly to stop the war, but warned that the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine goes “beyond the United States and Europe,” and it is a “threat to the entire world.”

He explained that the world order after World War II was built on the principles that forbid a country to change the borders of another by force. “If we allow those principles to be challenged, as Putin is doing now with impunity, that will open Pandora's box … for the entire world,” he asserted.

On the way to the meeting, top British diplomat Lizz Truss said “it is vitally important that we put the toughest sanctions” against Russia, stressing that “we want more.”

According to leaks, the ministers will discuss new sanctions against Russia at the meeting, which can include the energy sector and expanding restrictive measures on the Russian financial sector.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, it has been met by outrage from the international community, with the EU, UK, US and others implementing a range of economic sanctions on Russia.

The EU adopted three sanctions packages against Russia, targeting among others President Vladimir Putin, top diplomat Sergey Lavrov, the Russian banking sector, and key state-owned companies.

But Putin said the "special military operation" will last until all goals set were achieved.

According to UN figures, at least 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war.

More than 1.2 million people have also fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, the UN Refugee Agency said.