EU Not Winning in Global Battle of Narratives on Ukraine, Borrell Says


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali showed to him the different perspectives around the world on the situation in Ukraine and its consequences.

"In the March vote at the UN General Assembly, 140 states condemned the Russian aggression and no member of the G20, apart from the aggressor, opposed this resolution. But on how to move forward and on the consequences of the war, views differ sharply," Borrell said in a statement published on the EU’s website on Sunday.

"The G7 and like-minded countries are united in condemning and sanctioning Russia and in trying to hold the regime accountable. But other countries, and we can speak here of the majority of the `Global South’, often take a different perspective," he concluded, TASS reported.

"The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning," Borrell emphasized.

The G20 foreign ministerial sessions held in Bali on July 7-8 were attended by Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov. The Russian foreign minister held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in response to a request by the heads of the two Donbass republics. The US, the EU, the UK and a number of other countries retaliated with sweeping sanctions against Russia and have been ramping up their weapons supplies to Ukraine.