Kallas: Russia wants to neutralize Ukraine and restore its Soviet sphere of influence
Russia seeks to restore its sphere of influence that existed before 1991.
As reported by Censor.NET with a link to Ukrinform, this was stated by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas during her speech at an international conference organized by the EU Institute for Security Studies.
Russia has brought war back to Europe. Now Putin wants to neutralize Ukraine and restore his Soviet sphere of influence that existed before 1991. These goals are no secret. They were displayed for the whole world to see on the chest of the Russian foreign minister when he landed in the United States," Kallas said.
According to her, the urgency and practical need for a stronger geopolitical role for Europe is driven by two reasons.
"Firstly, Russia is not acting alone. China supplies Russia with up to 80 percent of its dual-use goods imports, and, as we know, there are no dual-use goods during wartime, because they are all used for military purposes. This allows the killings in Ukraine to continue," Kallas said.
She added that China and Russia are also considering joint management of global changes unseen in the last century, noting that another reason lies in the growing alliances of countries that see the world fundamentally differently than Europe.
Kallas noted that when Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about building a new type of international relations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting earlier this week, leaders from more than 20 countries were present, and only a few of them could be considered democratic.
"Europe is participating in the battle for freedom and democracy. To participate as an equal player, Europe must increase its geopolitical power," the EU representative emphasized, noting that this power can be based either on military might or economic strength.
While acknowledging that Europe does indeed have economic power, she recognized that the EU has never been particularly powerful in military terms.
At the same time, Europe "launched the largest military project in recent history, allocating 'additional defense spending of €2 trillion by 2031.'"
Kallas also stressed that simply increasing geopolitical power is not enough; unity is needed. She cited several examples where this unity had been achieved, particularly with regard to Ukraine, although now "it is increasingly difficult to have a unified position, even on blatant Russian aggression."
Kallas complained that funding from the European Peace Fund could be used to purchase weapons for Ukraine, particularly from the United States, but that it "continues to be blocked."
"We must build our global power and work on how we can be united—or change the rules so that we can make decisions. Otherwise, we simply won't be taken seriously," she concluded.
