Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called the European Union the main loser in the situation around the conflict in Ukraine apart from Ukrainians themselves, as he delivered a speech at the 86th International Exhibition of Thessaloniki.
Tsipras clarified that he supports Ukraine in the conflict, but noted that support for Kiev does not mean that the government should ignore "international geopolitical realignments". He argued that the EU has no real current strategy with regards to how to approach this conflict and warned that a costly new Cold War is upon Europe.
At the same time, the former prime minister claimed that the US and Russia were not affected as much by the consequences of the conflict.
"Neither the US nor Russia is losing financially. Europe is currently in turmoil and there is a deficit of strategy, leadership, vision," Tsipras alleged.
The ex-prime minister concluded that Europe needs to develop a solid and independent strategy, and to evaluate the efficiency of harsh sanctions against Russia and whether European countries are effectively shooting themselves in the foot. Tsipras added that without a clear strategy, the EU will trail behind its rivals and its very existence will be put into question.
Following the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, western countries slapped sanctions against Russian government, companies, ships, energy industry and banks. However, these measures quickly backfired in the form of surging oil and gas prices, general increases to decades-high inflation and risks of power shortages in the upcoming winter in Europe.
18 September 2022, 15:20 GMT
Moscow has repeatedly called for the West to lift sanctions, engage in dialogue, mend ties and also pressure Kiev into starting negotiations with Russia to end the conflict peacefully. So far these calls have fallen on deaf ears.