“Five EU Member States share a border with two aggressive dictatorships – Belarus and Russia. President Biden, we expect that during your meeting with Mr Putin, you will reaffirm that any act of Russian aggression, such as against Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 or against an EU Member State, will be met with an immediate and resolute US response”, stressed Sandra Kalniete MEP, Vice-Chairwoman of the EPP Group, ahead of today’s meeting of US President Joe Biden with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
“Russia must stop changing borders in Europe by force. Russia could, if it wanted to, return to the discussions on the association agreement with the EU, but it must first stop sustaining the increasingly nasty dictatorship in Belarus and stop murdering people in our countries”, said Radosław Sikorski MEP. “Mr President, the pre-consultation with your allies from Europe and NATO was a good idea. Please tell Mr Putin from us that if he blackmails countries with gas, Nord Stream sanctions will return. If he attacks a neighbour again, we will respond by deeds, not just words. And that every time he or Mr Lukashenko murders or kidnaps an opponent in the West, we will double our help to the Russian or Belarusian opposition”, Sikorski continued. Kalniete also expressed hope that the EU and the US will continue to work closely together to counter Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics. “History has shown that close cooperation between the US and Europe can lead to breakthrough changes. History has also shown us the price of inaction. As Mr Putin prepares for the next 15 years in power, the time has come for the democratic world to wake up. We must gear up our capacities to prevent interference in elections, sabotage on our soil, assassinations and the fuelling of hate and nationalist speech. Such actions will not be left unpunished”, she concluded.
