"This is one person's war" and "We are not fighting against Russia" says EU's top diplomat Borrell

The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has insisted the European Union is 'not fighting against Russia' but 'defending Ukraine' during a high-level State of the Union event in the Italian city of Florence.

Speaking exclusively to Euronews, Borrell said: "I don't like at all the story of the West against Russia or the West against the rest...this is an issue about the Charter of the United Nations. It’s about the sovereignty of the people of states, the respect for the borders not to use force to override their neighbour.

"We are not fighting against Russia. We are defending Ukraine. And, defending Ukraine means to defend the international order based on rules. Otherwise, it will be the law of the jungle," he added. 

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs also told Euronews' Meabh Mc Mahon that it was important to differentiate between Russia and Putin. 

"We don't have anything against the Russian people. It's about one regime, one political system, one person. This is one person's war. So, yes, we want to weaken Putin, but we don't want to push the Russian people against the border of history. One way or another they have to be part of a peaceful settlement and a peaceful security system in Europe."

Borrell was joined on stage by former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. Both men agreed that the war represented a historical turning point for Europe.

"I think this is the moment in which the European Union behaves as a geopolitical actor taking decisions, also on the military side, on the energy side, using the language of power," Borrell said. 

Praising the speed with which European leaders reacted in the aftermath of Russia's invasion, Stubb said: "I think the European Union moved from a regulator, or