Russia is the most direct threat to the world order, von der Leyen tells EU-Japan summit

Russia “is today the most direct threat to the world order”, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said following the EU-Japan Summit in Tokyo today, citing “the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its worrying pact with China and their call for ‘new’ – and very much arbitrary – international relations.”

Russian aggression against Ukraine and its consequences was one of the main themes of the EU-Japan summit attended by von der Leyen and by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, together with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

“Like the European Union, Japan understands what is at stake here,” said von der Leyen. “Not just Ukraine’s future. Not just Europe’s future. But the future of a rules-based world order.”

In a joint statement, the EU and Japan strongly condemned Russia’s aggression “that causes massive loss of life and suffering to civilians”, saying that, “those responsible for the war crimes and the atrocities perpetrated by Russia will be held accountable and brought to justice”.

Both sides pledged to work together to mitigate negative global impacts caused by the aggression, to prevent the circumvention of sanctions, and to continue to provide coordinated political, financial, material and humanitarian support to Ukraine.

They also condemned the role of the Lukashenko regime in Belarus in facilitating Russia’s military aggression.

Michel and von der Leyen expressed appreciation to Japan for ensuring earlier this year sufficient and affordable liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to EU markets. 

“In the light of sanctions on Russia, we will cooperate to keep global energy markets stable and help ensure each other’s security of supply, in particular for the supply of LNG,” says the joint statement issued after the summit. “We will cooperate to reduce Europe’s dependency on energy supplies from Russia and to ensure diversification of energy supply sources, and acknowledge the need for investments to achieve this.”

The EU and Japan also said they would strengthen cooperation on humanitarian aid and on disaster risk reduction, response and recovery.

“Russia’s war against Ukraine has shown that deeper cooperation is not a luxury, it’s a vital necessity,” said Charles Michel in a press conference after the Summit.

Find out more

Ursula von der Leyen statement

Joint statement

Main results of the EU-Japan summit, 12 May 2022