Top EU Diplomat: Russia's Not Invincible, Just Look at Collapse of Syria

The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, has said that Russia has vulnerabilities and can be defeated, so Europe needs to act bolder.

She made this statement to journalists on the eve of the European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, Politico reports.

‘Syria shows that Russia is not invincible. We should not underestimate our own strength,’ Kallas said.

She stressed that Europe must act as a united front to remain ‘strong and serious on the world stage’. ‘Everyone is looking at us in these events that are happening in the world,’ she said.

‘We see a struggle between forces that want a world order in which ‘whoever is strong is right’. And the European Union wants a world based on rules... where those in power cannot just take whatever they want,’ she added.

Callas and other EU leaders welcomed the collapse of the Assad regime as a ‘positive development’ for Syria. ‘It also shows the weakness of Assad's supporters, Russia and Iran,’ Callas said.

Russia has been a key ally of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown on 8 December by rebel groups after a 13-year civil war.