EU insists on role in US, Russia talks

The European Union has told Russia and the United States to stop stoking division in its backyard.

Josep Borrell, who heads the EU's foreign policy department, said during a visit to Ukraine this week that both Washington and Moscow had been creating "spheres of influence "ahead of crucial talks next week.

"We are no longer in Yalta times," he said, in reference to the Yalta Conference involving victorious nations at the end of World War II. "Spheres of influence for two big powers do not belong …in 2022. In this dialogue there are not two actors alone; not just the US and Russia."

Borrell made the comments as the US and Russia prepared for talks on Moscow's proposals to reshape the continent's defense and security arrangements. Russia wants the US and NATO to no longer allow former Soviet states to join Western military alliances.

It has asked the US and NATO not to station US troops in Eastern Europe.

Moscow says both things will help maintain balance in the region.

The talks, that begin in Geneva on Monday, involve officials from the US, Russia, and NATO, but exclude the EU.

Borrell told the Financial Times the bloc must have a seat at the table eventually, because the issues being discussed directly affect it.

He explained to Die Welt newspaper: "We do not want to be, and must not be, spectators that are not involved, and over whose heads decisions are made."

The talks will take place against the backdrop of Russia amassing more than 100,000 troops close to its border with former Soviet state Ukraine amid talk of a possible invasion.

Russia has said it has no intention of invading Ukraine, which has said in the past it would like to join both the EU and NATO.

But Russia's President Vladimir Putin said military action could become necessary if Moscow's security concerns are not addressed by the US and NATO.

The Guardian newspaper said Borrell's visit to Ukraine's border region and his meeting with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba were part of "intensifying diplomatic activity" intended to show solidarity with Kyiv.

The paper quoted Borrell as saying: "European security is our security. It is about us. Two parties, the US and Russia, or NATO and Russia, simply cannot negotiate about this."

Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said on Radio 4's Today program he would like Western countries to hit Moscow with sanctions proactively, to extinguish any possibility of an invasion.

"The first item on this agenda is survival," he said.

The BBC added that the EU's frustration at being excluded from the upcoming Russia-US talks could add impetus to efforts among some factions in the EU to form an integral military force, and a stronger foreign policy voice.