Former Leaders and officials sent on Tuesday the message that the European Union cannot remain the same after the war in Ukraine, during the Economist’s 18th Annual Cyprus Summit in Nicosia.
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko said that after Ukraine’s victory over Russia, the country expects new approaches to the security strategy in Europe.
She pointed out that Ukraine’s victory was not only about crushing the Russian army, but also about what would happen next, to Putin’s “corrupt, terrorist regime” which will continue to pose a threat to the world.
Noting that Putin wants to challenge the leadership of the west and re-examine the borders in favour of new empires, she added that it was time to impose strict conditions on Russia without waiting to see when it would carry out its nuclear threats. Such a development, she said, would be an “armageddon” for the entire world. The goal, she added, is not just to win the war, but to win the battle for the entire free world.
Tymoshenko also stressed the importance of China’s neutral position since Putin expected the country to participate in his aggressive actions.
Former vice chancellor and former minister of foreign affairs,of Germany Joschka Fischer said that the war in Ukraine was also a war against the EU. He added that if Europe accepted Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, the only question that would be left would be “who’s next”. He added that that the EU, which is primarily based on economic integration, will now be forced to transform into a major security factor.
For the EU, he said, the war means that it will have to live with a common threat to its eastern borders for years to come, which will lead to a major transformation in the European structure.
At the same time, he expressed optimism that despite the huge challenges, the crisis is a moment of opportunity and especially in the EU there’ s a possibility “to come even closer”. However, he said it will be a very different EU, since the war in Ukraine will lead to a change in the main axes of the EU from West to East. The EU’s readiness to accept new members means that the EU’s rules should be transformed, he added.
Head of European Commission Representation in Cyprus Myrto Zambarta referred to the significant economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU and the financial support of 19 billion euros granted so far to Ukraine. She added that the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels must be stopped both for energy security and for the benefit of the economy, as well as to combat climate change.
Zambarta also noted that this war began as an attack on the freedom of states to decide their own fate and is evolving into an economic threat, adding that united “we can overcome the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”
British high commissioner to Cyprus Irfan Siddiq referred to a need for a common front against these new tensions between democracies and autocracies. He said that the decision is clear and we have to choose which side we are on. The response, he added, “shows that we can all work together even if we are outside the EU”.
First deputy chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament of Ukraine and Former deputy prime minister of Ukraine Hryhoriy Nemyria called the war in Ukraine a war against Europe and against the global security order, forcing Europe to act to protect its interests. He added that the world order as we knew it no longer exists, while we are in the middle between the old and a new order.
He noted that there are no longer any grey zones or neutral countries in security matters, and there are no more “Finlandization” scenarios.
As for Russia, he said that it is paying the price of overestimating itself and underestimating others, since it will lose Europe as a client, while regarding China, he expressed the assessment that President Xi is not willing to associate himself with the defeated.
State senator, in the California State Senate Andreas Borgeas pointed out the vital role of the Mediterranean in the EU’s new energy independence.
He referred to the importance of electrical interconnections including that between Cyprus-Greece and Israel but also Cyprus-Greece-Egypt, mentioning that the US has reaffirmed its commitment to these energy corridors that will help Western states wean themselves off Russian gas.
Source: Cyprus News Agency