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Ukraine crisis overshadows EU’s Indo-Pacific move
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French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attend the Indo-Pacific Ministerial Cooperation Forum as part of the French Presidency of the EU Council in Paris on Feb. 22. (Pool via REUTERS/Christophe Archambault)
T
iming is rarely on the European Union's side when it comes to its engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, with its latest high-level forum overshadowed by Russia’s decision to move forward with its military threats in Ukraine.
Currently holding the rotating presidency of the council of the EU, France was just welcoming top diplomats from some 30 countries in the Indo-Pacific region when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would officially recognize Ukraine's breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia's move has raised the stakes for full armed hostilities.
Delegates from Indo-Pacific countries, including Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, were in Paris last week for the inaugural Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. This came as the EU is pitching its strategy toward the region, which has been repeatedly described by the EU foreign policy chief as “the center of gravity of the world” due to its economic and strategic prominence.
French and EU officials, meanwhile, have expressed their frustration over Russia’s move, which prompted an immediate response from the EU through various sanctions that were announced on Feb. 22.
