The head of European Union (EU) diplomacy is against the participation of Member States in the inauguration of the Russian President, on Tuesday in Moscow, although a final joint decision has not yet been taken, it was announced today.
“I can confirm that the invitation sent by the Kremlin [Presidência russa] for Putin’s inauguration tomorrow [terça-feira] It also reached our EU Member States and the EU Delegation in Moscow. We are currently discussing with Member States how the EU will respond to this invitation [dado que] Our aim is to always have a coordinated approach, whenever possible, on foreign policy,” said European Commission Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Peter Stano.
In clarifications at the institution’s daily press conference in Brussels, the spokesperson noted that “the final decision has not yet been taken” on this same invitation, but revealed that the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell “is against the EU’s participation in this event in Moscow” on Tuesday.
The clarifications come on the eve of Vladimir Putin taking office for a fifth term as head of the Russian Presidency.
Some EU member states have already indicated that they will not participate in the ceremony, as is the case of Italy, whose Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, indicated his rejection of the invitation in a context in which Giorgia Meloni’s government is trying to maintain its distance from to the Russian authorities.
There are, however, European countries that continue to maintain close relations with Russia, such as Hungary.
Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Ukraine’s Western allies have supplied weapons to Kiev and approved successive sanctions packages against Russian interests to try to diminish Moscow’s ability to finance the war effort.
