Borrel, Varhelyi: War in Ukraine Recalls Vivid Memories, Srebrenica Must Be Remembered

Remembering Victims of Srebrenica

European Union officials Josep Borrell and Oliver Varhelyi said in a press release on the 27th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica that "mass killings and war crimes" in Ukraine "bring back vivid memories" of the wars in the Western Balkans in the 1990s, and that "it is more than ever our duty to remember the genocide in Srebrenica, as part of our common European history."

"Europe has not forgotten what happened in Srebrenica and our own responsibility for not being able to prevent and to stop the genocide," the two officials further stated, noting that Europe failed in Srebrenica.

EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi added that Russia's "unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine has brought back a brutal war to our continent." "In these dangerous times, we wish to see Bosnia and Herzegovina progress on reconciliation, overcoming the legacies of the past, and decisively advance on its EU integration path," the statement notes.

"Political leaders must turn words into deeds: They need to choose the truth, justice and cooperation over fear and hate to overcome the tragic legacies of the past and build a a brighter and prosperous future for the next generations," the statement further said. Borrell and Varhelyi stressed that "there is no place in Europe for genocide denial, revisionism, and glorification of war criminals."