Borrell contradicts himself while commenting on Ukraine: Kremlin

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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell contradicts himself while speaking about the EU's preparedness for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict, according to Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Earlier on Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that the EU planned to launch a mission to train the Ukrainian military in mid-October, only to state later that the EU was ready to seek a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict "should the circumstances return to do so in a meaningful way."

"Borrell is as contradictory in his statements as a real diplomat cannot be contradictory in his rhetoric. I have explained it so ornately. Indeed, we regret to state the contradictory statements of the head of European diplomacy," Peskov told a briefing.

Last month, the European Union was set to approve new targets for sanctions on Russia, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said following reports that Brussels would impose further sanctions on Moscow.

"We will approve a new package of sanctions, although we have already done almost everything possible," Borrell told reporters. 

The top EU diplomat stressed that he could not reveal when the sanctions would be imposed nor who they would target, saying, "I cannot tell their names now."

He did, however, claim that the 27-nation bloc's anti-Russian sanctions were "very effective", highlighting how around two-thirds of Russian commercial airliners could not take off and nearly all car-manufacturing factories were put to a halt due to the lack of equipment from Europe.

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