EU wants place at table to discuss Ukraine, Russia crisis

By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s foreign policy chief is insisting that the 27-nation bloc must have a bigger role to play alongside Washington and Moscow to defuse the West’s standoff with Russia over Ukraine. The EU has largely been a bystander in the diplomatic flurry surrounding the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border. This highlights a deeper frustration in Brussels: although the EU is a massive global economic powerhouse, its strategic geopolitical footprint remains disproportionately small. “There are not two actors alone. It’s not just the US and Russia,” Josep Borrell said during a visit to Ukraine Wednesday. To show the EU’s commitment to Kyiv, Borrell visited Ukrainian soldiers at a crossing between Ukraine and territory controlled by pro-Russian militants.