“We have had regular telephone contact with Putin. We support Ukraine and we do not believe the Kremlin’s lies which are at the basis of the aggression. We intend to settle the dispute as soon as possible for the good of Europe . Putin is in trouble. a leading position in the Kremlin and like it or not and he is the interlocutor in the negotiations and we must keep the door open to Putin “.
These are the words of Charles Michel, president of the European Council in half an hour more on Rai3.
“Probably – said Michel – Putin’s calculations were wrong. Putin did not expect such tough resistance from the Ukrainians .. The losses for the Russian army are huge and Putin did not expect the European Union to be so quick and resolute in his reaction. We have launched sanctions that exert massive pressure on the Kremlin. Putin did not expect the EU, Britain and the US to align so quickly and was surprised. We must continue to support Kiev “.
And he added” The EU and NATO have never threatened Russiaor advanced aggressive policies, indeed we have always tried to maintain political dialogues, in addition to the fear of democracy, Putin is nostalgic for the Russian empire. The EU must become a power in all aspects: economy, finance, health, military capacity to defend our values, our interests and peace. The European project is at the service of peace and prosperity threatened by current war. This is why we have to improve in many areas, including the energy one.
“” We know what are the elements that must be part of the peace process to reach a solution. They are the guarantees on safety, first of all these guarantees must be valid for Ukraine. Zelensky ‘s independence and sovereignty must be respectedand Ukraine. They have to decide their associations, understand their position at this moment. Then the security guarantees are a long-standing problem. This war shows that the stakes are very high “.
According to the president of the European Commission” All countries in the region must provide guarantees of security towards others, from the old continent , and a question of transparency. These issues must be the subject of direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine but the European Union also has a say. We want to take this opportunity to strengthen common defense we want to defend the stability of the European continent, ” Ukraine and Europe
” I speakdaily with Zelensky “and even before the war” we had faced this prospect, the approach to Europe with a possible candidacy. This candidacy was officially introduced in the European institutions, in Versailles we saw the first debate. It is a strong political signal to Ukraine and we have decided to strengthen the link with the association agreement. So we connect the political network to Brussels.
“” To Versaillesthe heads of state and government have issued a declaration of support for Ukraine which must choose its own destiny independently. Then there is the debate on enlargement and if we want an enlargement towards Ukraine we must act decisively and this debate must be addressed to take steps forward and we must take into account the other requests for membership of other countries such as Georgia and Moldova. The European project attracts. It represents a magnet. How safe it is and that by asking the opinion of the Commission we have accelerated the procedures “. Nuclear power and energy
” We certainly take into consideration Russia’s nuclear power, the situation is serious and the nuclear weaponand a concern for us. At the time of the first attacks we tried to secure nuclear power plants, but irresponsible and threatening statements, we are very committed to supporting Ukraine which is fighting militarily and resisting and on the other hand to exert pressure with sanctions. Putin wanted to return to the cold war , it is not a conflict between the EU, NATO and Russia, but it is a conflict between Russia and the rest of the world, we condemn the military aggression of Russia and defend international law, we are on the threshold of the third world war because Russia has a nuclear weapon ”
According to President Michel, the unprecedented resources available to the European Union” must be well investedto have a positive impact and make us more independent economically and safer, with new investments also in defense and we must invest in technological innovation “.
” Then we must ensure that private investments are better oriented towards European priorities. Every time we meet, we try to understand how we can remain united and find formulas that allow us to achieve common goals “, to have a” Europe that is more solid, more robust, less dependent on energy and security, and more ambitious to service of all European citizens. ”
At the recent EU summit in Versailles, it was established that “we need a more European approach also for energy, just as it was done for vaccines”. “Collectively, we need to be less dependent on energy,” Michel stressed. “The problem is the transition . We want to leave our mark on prices, because the cost of electricity is soaring and this has an impact on families and the economy, so we have to act together to make our mark. We must probably have more liquefied gas. , therefore, to adapt our infrastructures which must also be ready for hydrogen “. The humanitarian crisis, the refugees
“In the past, the migration issuehas been at the center of bitter debates within the EU, but we see that the overwhelming majority of European citizens are committed to welcoming Ukrainian women and children in a dignified manner, we must show solidarity, we work intensively with the Commission and we must support the countries bordering Ukraine. We must solve the problem in a structural way the problem of migration where Italy is at the forefront. We hope that we will be able to make progress “.
President Michel also focused on talks with American President Joe Biden, who will be in Brussels on 24 and 25 March, we will mainly talk about the” Ukrainian conflict and we will talk about sanctions, about the European community and of the peace process “, but also of the”
