Ukraine has taken backseat to Middle East crisis – Borrell

Western attention is mainly directed at the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief

The Middle East crisis is now the main focus of Western attention rather than the Ukraine conflict, the EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. 

Borrell, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in February 2022, made the comments in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE on Sunday. 

When asked whether he was worried that Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon could result in the Ukraine conflict receding into the background, he replied: “You are right.”

“We no longer talk as much about the war in Ukraine. [It is] as if the conflict is over there, but no, I assure you that it is not over. It continues and continues with the same intensity,” Borrell stated.

He added, however, that in the Ukraine conflict “the destruction does not perhaps reach the extremes of barbarism” seen during the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

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“The most acute humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War” is currently unfolding in the Palestinian enclave, Borrell said, citing the UN. He warned that “350,000 people could die of hunger in the next few weeks” in Gaza.

“What is happening in the Middle East shows that we have lost our sense of humanity,” the diplomat stated. 

The EU foreign policy chief accused Israel of repeatedly ignoring UN Security Council resolutions, calling for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Lebanon. As long as the conflicts continue, “we will live on the edge of a spark that will cause an even bigger fire,” he warned.

Earlier this month, Borrell called on Kiev’s backers in the US and EU not to reduce the amount of military aid to Ukraine, arguing that without it the conflict would end in Russia’s favor “within 15 days.” It is “important” for the EU’s security that “when the time comes, negotiations can be held on terms favorable to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he stated.

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Russia has repeatedly warned that Western aid for Kiev only serves to prolong the conflict. 

Borrell, 77, will retire as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on October 30. He will be replaced by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a pronounced Russia hawk who has lobbied for stronger sanctions against Moscow. Earlier this year, Russia put Kallas on the wanted list over her campaign to destroy Soviet WWII memorials in the Baltic nation.