Top EU diplomats to meet in New York over Putin's announcement of military mobilization

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in New York over Russia’s decision to partially mobilize its reservists to strengthen its armed forces and plans for referendums in parts of Ukraine.

"Tonight, immediately after hearing about the words of Mr. Putin, I am convening an extraordinary and ad-hoc informal meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Ministers with the purpose to agree on a common line," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement Wednesday.

"The common line – I am sure – could be summarized saying that we will not be intimidated and we will continue our full support for Ukrainian sovereignty and democracy and continue working for this war to stop as soon as possible – before going into bigger challenges, before facing bigger threats, and before the international community has to react to such threats,” Borrell added.

"Tonight, I am convening EU Foreign Ministers, gathered for UN General Assembly in New York, to agree on our line," he said in a Twitter post.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier Wednesday a mass mobilization in Russia of 300,000 reservists to support his flagging war effort in Ukraine. In doing so, he offered a dire warning ahead of planned referendums in parts of Ukraine denounced by the West as a "sham" effort to annex additional Ukrainian territory.