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DEThe European Union, the United States, NATO, and the OSCE held a first quadrilateral call to coordinate their stance in the context of responding to European security challenges amid Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine.
“In the context of continued transatlantic and multilateral coordination in regards to European security, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell participated in a first quadrilateral call with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and the OSCE Chairmanship-in-Office Poland, on Wednesday night. They discussed Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine as well as ongoing bilateral and international diplomatic engagements related to Russian attempts to re-define security arrangements in Europe,” reads the statement released on the European External Action Service website.
As noted, the US, the EU, NATO, and the OSCE reaffirmed the need to uphold the fundamental principles of the existing European security architecture, as enshrined particularly within the OSCE. The parties also underlined their determination to continue intense consultations on identifying ways to solve the situation through bilateral and multilateral diplomatic engagement and by presenting a “strong, clear and united transatlantic front.”
EU Foreign Ministers will take their discussions forward on this issue at their forthcoming meeting of the Council in Brussels on Monday. High Representative Borrell invited Secretary Blinken to join this meeting.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden said at a news conference on the anniversary of his presidency that if the situation around Ukraine escalated, Russian banks would not be able to deal in U.S. dollars.
According to Biden, Putin now has a choice: de-escalation and diplomacy or confrontation and consequences. At the same time, according to the American leader, “he [Putin] has never seen sanctions like the ones I promised will be imposed.”
Bohdan Marusyak
