DISINFO: Borrell made an insane statement about reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine
SUMMARY
The statement made by Josep Borrell, the head of the EU foreign policy service, asserting that the notion of potential reconciliation between the conflicting parties in Ukraine is wrong, is monstrous.
Such statements are perceived negatively within EU countries. They communicate with each other, realising that this person’s statements are no longer even marginal, they are insane.
Instead of facilitating peace between Moscow and Kiev, he [Borrell] proposed the transfer of even more offensive weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, necessary to try to seize the territories of new Russian regions.
RESPONSE
This is a grave misrepresentation of Josep Borrell's Op-ed published in the "Nouvel Obs" on 30 January 2024. The Op-ed was not about conciliation between Ukraine and Russia, but about conciliation efforts between the EU and Russia in the current circumstances.
Borrell's Op-ed says: “Et une fois de plus, les tentations de conciliation refont surface. Ces idées étaient erronées en 2022, et elles le restent aujourd’hui"
This could be translated to: "And once again, the temptation of conciliation resurfaces. These ideas were wrong in 2022, and they remain wrong today”.
Misinformation does not just stem from purely false information, but also from misrepresentation. Taking statements out of context is a subtle yet powerful form of misinformation. It involves twisting words to attack someone's reputation by altering the intended meaning. This practice is not just misleading; it's a deliberate distortion.
The article tried to remove focus from the fact that Russia started the war, and could end it by stopping its invasion of Ukraine. The usual narrative of “the warmongering West” is a Kremlin classic. By refusing to end the occupation of Ukraine, Moscow’s calls for “Peace talks” are just masked demands for Ukraine’s surrender.
In 2022, Russia officially annexed four Ukrainian regions through sham referendums conducted in the presence of Russian soldiers, despite not having full control over these areas. These regions are not recognized as part of Russia by the United Nations. The General Assembly of Ukraine condemned the Russian Federation’s attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, demanding an immediate withdrawal of all Russian military forces from Ukrainian territory.
The assertion that the West is responsible for instigating a "quarrel" between Russia and Ukraine is a recurring false narrative.
Russia alone is accountable for its invasion of Ukraine. It has continually fabricated various false pretexts for its aggression since the onset of hostilities.
Russia was not forced to invade Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. It is Russia who has been violating international law since 2014 occupying and then annexing Crimea and then starting a conflict in Donbas.
See a similar claim Borrell's statement that a settlement in Ukraine is wrong is shocking.