ロシア勝利はトランプ氏の勝利にあらず ウクライナ紛争めぐりＥＵ外交トップ

【キーウＡＦＰ＝時事】米国でドナルド・トランプ前大統領が２期目の準備を進める中、欧州連合（ＥＵ）のジョセップ・ボレル外交安全保障上級代表（外相）は１１日、ウクライナ紛争でロシアに勝利を許せば、米国にとって損失になると警告した。（写真はウクライナ・キーウでインタビューに応じる欧州連合〈ＥＵ〉外交安全保障上級代表のジョセップ・ボレル氏）
　先週投票が行われた米大統領選をトランプ氏が制して以降、ＥＵ高官として初めてウクライナを訪問したボレル氏はＡＦＰに対し、「仮にウクライナが崩壊し、（ウラジーミル・）プーチン（ロシア大統領）が戦争に勝てば、米国の指導層にとって決して勝利とはならないだろう」と語った。
　トランプ氏の返り咲きにより、米国がウクライナへの軍事支援を停止する可能性があるとして、ウクライナおよびＥＵでは懸念が強まっている。
　ボレル氏のウクライナ訪問は、来月の退任を控えた、ＥＵ外交トップとして最後の訪問となるが、米大統領選の結果にかかわらず、ＥＵが今後もウクライナを強力に支援していく姿勢を示すのが狙い。
　ドイツのキール世界経済研究所によると、２０２２年のロシアによるウクライナ侵攻開始以降のウクライナ支援は、欧州全体で約１２５０億ドル（約１９兆円）、米国１国で９００億ドル（約１３兆５０００億円）超に上る。
　ウクライナのウォロディミル・ゼレンスキー大統領との会談を控えてボレル氏は、「米国の姿勢がどうなるか予測できない」としながら、「一つ言えるのは、米国が行動し、それに対してわれわれ欧州が反応するという論法から抜け出す必要があるということだ。われわれ自身が行動できる力を備えなければならない」と述べた。
　また、ウクライナの勝利を目指して支援するという目標は「まったく変わっていない」とし、ＥＵがウクライナを「加盟候補国」と認定したことは、長期的な関与を意味するものだと強調した。
　さらに、プーチン大統領の目的は「ウクライナ社会をロシアの支配下に置くことだ」と主張。「だからこそ、ウクライナは抵抗しなければならない」「存亡をかけた戦いだ」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/12-18:20）

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Monday that letting Russia win in Ukraine would represent a loss for the United States, as Donald Trump prepares to return to the presidency.
Certainly it would not be a victory for the American leadership if Ukraine crumbles down and Putin wins the war, Borrell told AFP on the first visit to Kyiv by a senior EU official since Trump's US election triumph.
Trump's re-election has raised concern in Ukraine and Europe that he could end Washington's support for Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion.
On the campaign trail, Trump cast doubt on maintaining the vast US military and financial aid to Ukraine and said he could cut a quick deal to end the war.
Borrell's trip to Ukraine, his last before leaving office next month, was aimed at reassuring Kyiv that it still has Europe's firm backing regardless of the US election outcome.
The Kremlin on Monday denied a report by The Washington Post that Trump and Putin discussed the Ukraine war in a telephone call last week.
Borrell said he had no indication of whether they had spoken already but added they certainly will talk at some point.
It's not a surprise, he said, noting that EU leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also said they were ready to talk to Putin.
That is part of the game, he said.
- 'Existential' war -
Europe together has spent around $125 billion on supporting Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion, while the United States alone has provided more than $90 billion, according to a tracker from the Kiel Institute, a German research body.
I cannot anticipate what will be the position of the US, said Borrell, who was set to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
But let me say one thing, we have to escape of the logic of the US acting and we, Europe reacting -- we have to have our own capacity to act.
On the battlefield, Ukraine's troops are struggling to stave off Russia's advances as they approach three years of full-scale combat.
Borrell said that the goal of helping Ukraine prevail in the war remained exactly the same and that the bloc's long-term commitment had been shown in its decision to put Kyiv on the road to membership.
He said Putin's aim was to put Ukrainian society under the boot of Russian domination.
So they have to resist against it, he said. It's existential.
Borrell, who visited a plant producing drones for Ukraine's forces while in the country, said the EU should step up its help to bolster Kyiv's defence industry so it can increasingly arm itself.
The EU has already put 400 million euros ($426 million) towards helping to bolster Ukraine's military output.
It's much more efficient to support Ukrainians in developing their own industrial capacity, he said.