Durão Barroso says plane crash might harm EU-Russia relations
European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso
European Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso condemned on Monday (Jul 21) Russia’s attitude towards the separatist conflicts in Ukraine, which may be related to the Malaysia Airlines crash last week. During a lecture at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, in Rio de Janeiro, Durão Barroso said that the European Union is not interested in hostilities against Moscow.
“We’ve called for an independent and solid investigation. The first indications we have—and we cannot confirm them—is that the airplane was shot down by pro-Russia, separatist rebels. And, obviously, we’re trying to understand the reality. This will probably have even more negative consequences in the relations between the European Union and Russia. The EU must not tolerate this attitude. If we begin to tolerate them shooting down airplanes flying in the countries’ skies, where is the world headed?”
The Malaysia Airlines aircraft, flying from the Netherlands to Malaysia, fell in the Donetsk region, with 298 people on board. The Ukrainian government has held the separatists responsible for the incident.
Barroso noted that the European Union is Russia’s main trade partner, and that the country, in turn, is the largest among the bloc’s energy providers. He argues, however, that Ukraine’s situation is a matter of principles: “We do not want confrontation, but it’ll be difficult if the Russian government does not take perfectly clear measures—which hasn’t been done so far—to stop what’s happening in eastern Ukraine,” he said, adding that, “Unfortunately, in this crisis, we’ve seen that there are nationalists in Russia we thought did not belong in the 21st century, who follow a Cold War logic that’s simply regrettable.”
The European leader once again opposed the annexation of Crimea, the region in Ukraine that declared independence after a referendum held with no permission from Kiev, and aimed at reintegrating the region into Russia. “Against all international laws, Russia has annexed Crimea. That is a flagrant breach of international law. Russia had recognized the independence of Ukraine after the end of the Soviet Union. And now they have created a situation of great instability in East Ukraine,” Barroso declared.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Durão Barroso says plane crash might harm EU-Russia relations
