European Council President Charles MichelBRUSSELS, Jan 26The EU considers it necessary to use all available diplomatic channels to the maximum in order to achieve a defuse of the tense situation around Ukraine, said the head of the European Council Charles Michel, speaking in Slovakia at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of this country, Eduard Heger. «A threat to Ukraine is a threat to Europe «That is why we are making efforts to support the de-escalation, which we very much hope for, through diplomatic channels. We believe that all efforts must be made in various diplomatic formats, including the OSCE, the UNSC, the Normandy format, the Russia-NATO Council, as well as through direct negotiations between the US and Russia,» he said.Brussels wondered why the EU is sponsoring Ukraine amid corruptionAccording to Michel, «on Monday, the leaders of a number of EU countries with American and British partners were able to meet via video link and confirm the unity of our positions and our involvement in achieving success (on de-escalation — ed.) through diplomatic channels, but also our readiness to take uniform restrictive measures if these efforts fail.” Michel did not answer a question from journalists about whether the EU is already making any efforts in case refugees. «It is necessary to mobilize efforts on the diplomatic front to defuse tensions, but we are also preparing restrictive measures (against Russia — ed.), which I hope will not be required, together with partners,» he said.
Ukraine was pointed out to disappointing signals from NATO and the EURussia has repeatedly rejected accusations of the West and Ukraine of «aggressive actions», stating that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, but statements about «Russian aggression» are being used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that Western statements about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it are both ridiculous and dangerous. At the same time, Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» sides of Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not worry anyone.
