Extraordinary NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting: Remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell upon arrival

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I was here two weeks ago for the [NATO Defence] Ministerial meeting. The world has changed a lot since then.

We are now witnessing a fully-fledged war on our borders. A war unleashed by President Putin against Ukraine, a completely unjustified war that is creating a lot of civilian casualties, with the use of arms strictly prohibited by the Geneva Convention, a lot of civilian losses.

This is the moment to speak out and to stand up. This is the moment where transatlantic unity is more important than ever.

We, at the European Union, have decided an unprecedented package of sanctions – financial, political, [and] economic – sanctions that will hurt the Russian economy a lot. We are supporting the right of Ukraine to defend. We really admire the courage of the army, the people and the government of Ukraine.

I think it is important to launch the Moscow mechanism and to send monitoring missions to see which are the acts that can be considered war crimes.

Once again, I think that this is the moment when we have to be united, because we cannot afford that might makes right. This is a critical moment in the history of Europe.

More information: European Union External Action Service