The US and the EU coordinated their defence and security actions in the Indo-Pacific region

The European Union and the United States held a high-level meeting in Washington to address common defence and security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, especially China, and to address the deterioration of its relations with Russia in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, representing the United States, and the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service, Enrique Mora, for the European side, held this high-level meeting in Washington announced last June.

In this regard, the topics discussed focused on “strategic objectives”, as well as political coordination mechanisms between the United States and the EU to “end Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine”, as announced by the US State Department.

“Nuland and Mora welcomed the exceptional unity shown at the recent European Council, the extraordinary meeting of NATO leaders and the meeting of G7 leaders. They condemned the barbaric, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of the Kremlin against Ukraine, also authorized by the Belarusian government,” he stressed.

He also reported that both sides “will work to track reports of war crimes” against Russia. In this way, they will “share information collected with allies, partners, institutions and international organizations”.

The US-EU high-level meeting focused on the implementation of “unprecedented” sanctions, as well as export control measures that seek to “further isolate” Russia from the international financial system “to impose severe costs on Moscow for its actions.”

He also welcomed the sanctions imposed by individual countries and reiterated their commitment to “further expand the coalition” and strengthen its implementation to “hold the Russian Government accountable”.

“They stressed the importance of insisting that China supports the immediate end of hostilities, the establishment of humanitarian corridors and the prevention of any risk of further escalation. They will continue to urge China not to evade or undermine sanctions against Russia and not to provide any support to Russia,” the statement on the event said.

Another point discussed during the meeting was political, financial, material and humanitarian support for Ukraine, as well as efforts “to counter the Kremlin's propaganda and misinformation and reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy.”

“They also discussed their ongoing efforts to support democratic forces inside and outside Belarus in the defense and promotion of human rights, including freedom of expression, and free and fair elections under international observation,” he said.

The United States and the European Union agreed last June to establish a hotline to address growing tensions and deteriorating relations with Russia, in a high-level channel that follows the existing one on China.

This was announced after a meeting in Brussels between US President Joe Biden, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Michel defended at a press conference after the summit the EU's unity of action towards Russia, while calling for a “proactive strategy” with the United States to promote values before authoritarian regimes, a message he conveyed to Biden hours before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

“Relations with Russia are in a negative spiral. We would like to change this and move towards more predictive relationships,” Von der Leyen advocated at the time, who asked to take advantage of opportunities for cooperation where possible.

(With information from Europa Press)

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