Lindy: Russia is trying to underestimate the EU

On Thursday and Friday, EU foreign ministers will meet in Brest, France, to discuss, at a minimum, the situation surrounding the gathering of Russian forces around Ukraine.

This happened since Russia met with both the United States and NATO during the week to talk about the situation, at the same time talks will take place on Thursday also within the framework of the OSCE.

However, there was no special seat for the European Union at the tables. Anne Lindy thinks quite intentionally from the Russian side.

– We see a conscious attempt by Russia to divide the European Union and to downplay the importance of the European Union. It is important for us to stress that the EU has a clear role to play in the discussion of EU defense and security policy, said Linde at a digital press conference from Brest.

This week’s talks so far have not produced any clear results, except for hopes that they will lead to more meetings. And Lindy says there’s always something going on.

– Sometimes diplomats say that “the meeting is the message.” Nothing positive has come out of them, but the mere fact of their detention I think is a positive sign, the Secretary of State believes.

Thursday’s meeting in Brest will also be attended by EU defense ministers, including Sweden’s Peter Holtqvist. The hope is, among other things, to move forward with work on the EU’s “strategic compass”, which will determine the direction of the Union’s future security and defense policy.