Ukraine remains top agenda item for EU, says EU’s Sannino

livemint.com:

Mint on the sidelines of the 2024 Raisina Dialogue, Sannino outlined the EU’s concerns about Russia and the war in Ukraine. However, Sannino played down talk of differences with India over the conflict but said the EEAS was "certainly asking" India to be supportive in implementation of sanctions against Russia. “Russia is a spoiler.

Russia is a country that needs to create havoc to be relevant internationally, because it has no other way of having weight. Economically and socially, it is unfortunately shrinking from all points of view," said Sannino. Sannino acknowledged that the war in Ukraine is not progressing as well as Western powers would have hoped.

Ukraine has called on its backers to provide more financial and military backing for its counter offensive. The country has faced shortages of critical arms and ammunition as it seeks to push Russia back. The war began after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Sannino will discuss the Ukraine war with Indian officials but played down any differences with India over the conflict. India has not condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has not joined schemes like the G7 oil price cap, which aimed to deprive Russia of its energy revenues. “This is a decision for India.

This is not up to us. What I will present to India is our positions and why we feel that this (Ukraine war) is important. We are certainly asking India to be supportive in implementation of the sanctions," Sannino said.

“I'm well aware of the position of India vis-a-vis Russia and the reason why India has a relationship with Russia that continues to be strong. And I'm not here to tell the Indian government what it has to do," Sannino added. Sannino also highlighted closer India-EU cooperation,