The words of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, that there is no alternative to a military solution to the crisis in Ukraine are out of the ordinary, they significantly change the rules of the game.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“What Josep Borrell said even against this unprecedented, aggressive background is a significant game changer.

The EU has never acted as a military organization until now,” Lavrov emphasized in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

According to the minister, this is “a serious reversal in the policy that the EU and the West in general under the leadership of the United States” began to pursue after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.

  • Sergei Lavrov

  • RIA News

  • © Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Lavrov noted that such statements for diplomacy are something "out of the ordinary."

“When the head of the diplomacy of a country or some organization, as in this case, Josep Borrell, representing the diplomacy of the EU, says that a specific conflict can be resolved exclusively by military means, it means that either he has accumulated something personal, or he made a slip , or blurted out that no one instructed him.

This is an out of the ordinary statement.

We will officially talk about this in more detail in our documents.

I hope that in the next day or two we will analyze all this, ”said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Recall that on April 9, during a visit to Kyiv, Borrell wished that the conflict in Ukraine was resolved by military means. 

“This war will be won on the battlefield.

The European Peace Fund has allocated an additional €500 million. Arms supplies will be carried out taking into account the needs of Ukraine,” said the head of European diplomacy.

On April 11, Borrell reaffirmed his position on the need for a forceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine.

According to him, Europe will discuss the expansion of military assistance to Ukraine.

“These statements are truly unprecedented, because for the first time the person in charge of the EU's common policy is not in favor of a politico-diplomatic settlement of the conflict, but for Ukraine's military victory over Russia.

The EU is thus positioning itself as a military player.

It's one thing when NATO discusses arms supplies to Ukraine and military measures, and another thing when the EU starts doing it.

This changes the rules of the game in relation to this organization, and, accordingly, it changes Russia's attitude towards the accession of certain countries to the EU, ”said Dmitry Suslov, deputy director of the Center for European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, in a comment to RT.

In turn, Pavel Feldman, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, noted that in his words Borrell actually admitted that the EU is a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

“Over the past month, the EU countries have been actively supplying weapons to Ukraine, thereby de facto recognizing that they are fighting on its side.

Now Borrell stated this situation.

This can be called self-disclosure, ”the analyst said in an interview with RT.

The West is arming Ukraine

It is worth noting that Borrell's words about the need to resolve the conflict in Ukraine by force were heard against the backdrop of constant calls in the West to expand military assistance to Ukraine.

So, on April 11, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said that Kiev needed heavy weapons and that now was not the time for excuses in this matter.

“These horrific footage we see daily shows that Ukraine needs further military support to be able to defend itself.

What is clear is that Ukraine needs military means, primarily heavy weapons, TASS quoted Burbock as saying.

“And now is not the time for excuses, but the time for creativity and pragmatism.”

  • Annalena Burbock

  • AP

  • © Olivier Matthys

On the same day, according to a Bloomberg source, Josep Borrell called on EU countries to urgently provide weapons to Ukraine.

The head of European diplomacy told senior European officials that a decision must be made within days, not weeks, and that the bloc must do whatever is necessary to help Ukraine.

According to the source of the publication, the governments of the EU countries have committed to study Ukrainian requests for weapons, which include tanks and multiple launch rocket systems, but have not yet decided on the timing and range of supplies.

Meanwhile, the West began arming Ukraine long before the Russian special operation, but after February 24, these deliveries intensified.

So, as reported by Reuters, the Czech Republic has already sent Ukraine tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems.

The total amount of transferred equipment is not reported, but it is specified that we are talking about deliveries worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In turn, Slovakia delivered the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine in April.

This was announced by the Prime Minister of the country Eduard Heger.

It is worth noting that on April 11, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced "the destruction of the equipment of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile division, which was delivered to the Kiev regime of one of the European countries, hidden in the hangar."

The name of the country that transferred the equipment to Ukraine was not specified. 

The Russian side has repeatedly noted that such supplies only exacerbate the crisis in Ukraine.

Thus, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the continued saturation of Ukraine with weapons from the West "does not contribute to success in Russian-Ukrainian negotiations" and "will have a negative effect."

"Maximum delay in hostilities"

According to analysts, Borrell's words about the need for a military victory in Ukraine and the supply of weapons to Kiev may persuade the Ukrainian authorities to deliberately delay the negotiation process with the Russian Federation, which started shortly after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.

“Delaying the negotiation process is precisely the prospect that we already have as a result of EU policy,” said Dmitry Suslov.

  • Deliveries of Western weapons to Ukraine

  • Legion Media

  • © Volodymyr Tarasov

According to the expert, such tactics of the European Union and the West are ultimately aimed at ensuring that the hostilities in Ukraine last as long as possible.

“Undoubtedly, the EU and the US are pursuing a policy of protracting the hostilities in Ukraine as much as possible, disrupting negotiations or complicating them in order to inflict maximum damage on Russia.

The war is being waged against Russia, and no one is hiding this anymore, ”said the analyst.

At the same time, Suslov added that Ukraine itself suffers first of all from such a course of the European Union.

“First of all, Ukraine suffers from this, which becomes an expendable material in the war against Russia.

The West does not care about Ukraine, it was, is and will be only an instrument of geopolitics.

The West is solving geostrategic tasks to restore its hegemony in international relations.

To do this, the EU and the US need to weaken Russia as much as possible, and Ukraine acts as cannon fodder for this task, ”says the analyst.

This point of view is shared by Ambassador Extraordinary, Senator Konstantin Dolgov.

“The position of the West is aimed at the maximum incitement of an armed conflict in order to prolong the confrontation with Russia and thus weaken our country.

This is the anti-Russian line of the West, Ukraine is just a tool here, a foothold.

This is how they treat her in Europe and the USA, ”the senator said in an interview with RT.

Experts state that Borrell's words will change the world's perception of European diplomacy, but they are unlikely to affect Russian-European relations.

“Such statements will no longer change relations between Russia and the EU, since they are already in a state of total burnout.

There is no way to return to the interaction that was before the operation.

Now everything is completely destroyed - and the legacy of the last 30 years, and even 70 years.

That is, we are moving towards the complete absence of any relations with the EU, ”says Suslov.

In turn, Pavel Feldman believes that the break with the EU will not be a catastrophe for the Russian Federation.

“Relations between Russia and the EU have been degrading for so long.

It's hard to do something to hurt them because that relationship is almost completely broken.

But Russia manages to establish direct diplomatic relations with the leading countries of the European Union.

So even if relations with the EU are completely broken off, there will be nothing to regret.

The same EU members will communicate with Russia bypassing Brussels,” the analyst concluded.