The new EU ambassador to the United States has arrived in Washington at a time when tough issues related to the war in Ukraine are at the top of the international agenda as the conflict grinds toward its two-year anniversary on February 24.
Chief among them for U.S. politicians is a crucial $61 billion military aid bill proposed by President Joe Biden that has stalled in Congress despite his pleadings with lawmakers to pass it, saying its failure would only play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands.
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Ambassador Jovita Neliupsiene, speaking in her first interview with a U.S.-based broadcaster since stepping into the role of EU ambassador to the U.S. on January 1, said her message to Congress is that the United States and the European Union must act together to help Ukraine stop Russia’s aggression.
“It's difficult to imagine that Ukraine can fight this war for their freedom, for their security, for their existence, actually, without support being provided by the EU and by the United States,” Neliupsiene told RFE/RL on January 21.
She believes there is broad support for the aid bill in Congress. What is lacking is the will to pass it.
“I’m sure that a majority of the Congress [supports] the package for Ukraine because we are speaking about a war on the European continent, a war that can [cross] borders if the aggressor, the dictator, is not stopped,” the ambassador said.
In speaking with members of Congress and diplomats in Washington, Neliupsiene said she can put her message concisely: “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”
She also stressed the need to take action is urgent because Putin’s regime will “push the red lines until they know that this is really a red line,” adding that if Russia pushes further in Ukraine, the EU will have to make more costly and painful decisions, “and there will be no escape.”
As Neliupsiene sets out in her new position, the Lithuanian whose past positions include vice minister of foreign affairs noted that the EU has stepped up in the absence of continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
EU leaders on February 1 reached a deal to provide 50 billion euros ($54 billion). This follow 94 billion euros last year, and while EU aid is mostly to ensure that Ukraine can sustain state operations, about 30 percent goes toward defense, she said.
The EU and United States also must work together on sanctions, the new EU ambassador said, noting a priority of the EU’s sanctions packages, including the 13th package set forth on February 21, has been to slow down Russia’s military industrial capacity and prevent Moscow from acquiring high-quality components.
The EU has imposed sanctions on 1,600 individuals and several hundred companies even before the new round of sanctions was announced, and the coalition of countries observing sanctions has grown to more than 50, she said.
Meanwhile, Russia has been joined in a “coalition of ill will” that includes Iran, Belarus, North Korea, and China that must be countered. The key to that is to show unity in the face of Russia’s war, and an important part of her message is that the European countries are united right now.
“We think and we believe that only a united front can actually make sure that Ukraine can prevail,” she said. “But victory has to stand on two legs on both sides of the Atlantic.”