The Ukraine conflict could be over in 15 days if the West stopped supporting Kiev, outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has predicted. In an interview with the Spanish news outlet 20minutos published on Monday, the diplomat signaled that while “many” want the conflict to end as soon as possible, Ukraine’s Western backers won’t be happy with it ending on Russia’s terms.
According to Borrell, if the EU and US suddenly stopped helping Kiev, Ukraine would be forced to capitulate.
“If we stop supporting Ukraine, the war will be over in fifteen days and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will achieve his goals. But do we want this for the Ukrainians, and for the security of ourselves, as Europeans?” Borrell asked, arguing that it is “important” how the conflict ends, not when.
“We must do everything possible to ensure that when the time comes, negotiations can be held on terms favorable to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the EU’s top diplomat, a vocal supporter of Kiev, added. He has previously promised on behalf of the bloc “to support Ukraine with whatever it takes for as long as it takes.”
Borrell is leaving his post later this autumn, to be replaced by former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a proponent of tougher sanctions on Moscow.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said last month that the country is around 80% dependent on Western military assistance to continue fighting Russia. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has often criticized Western countries for refusing to provide the country with all the necessary weapons to fight Russia, taking too long to make decisions on aid packages, and not approving strikes deep inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons.
Russia has warned that Western aid for Kiev only prolongs the conflict. President Vladimir Putin previously said that Ukraine’s military would collapse within a week if the flow of Western aid was cut off.
Putin signaled earlier this year that Moscow was ready to start peace talks if Kiev gives up its claims to former regions that voted to join Russia, and abandons its bid to join NATO. After the start of Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in August, however, Putin ruled out any engagement with Kiev until the Ukrainian troops leave Russian territory.
Kiev is currently working to persuade its backers to approve Zelensky’s so-called ‘victory plan’, which, according to media reports, runs counter to nearly all of Russia’s demands. The scheme, which has not yet been made public, has reportedly been met with skepticism by Western officials, but Zelensky said over the weekend that he plans to continue pitching it. Former Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov previously dismissed the ‘plan’, calling it “notorious.”