EU’s Top Diplomat Says Floyd’s Death Was ‘Abuse of Power’

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union's top diplomat said the death in the U.S. of an unarmed black man at the hands of police was “an abuse of power” as officials across the continent expressed concern at the ensuing unrest.

EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said the 27-nation bloc was “shocked and appalled” by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis and voiced “trust in the ability of the Americans to come together, to heal as a nation and to address these important issues during these difficult times.”

“This is an abuse of power and this has to be denounced,” Borrell told reporters on Tuesday in Brussels. “All societies must remain vigilant against the excess of the use of force.”

The outbreaks of violence across the U.S. have put European diplomats in an awkward position as they try to avoid provoking President Donald Trump while reflecting the outrage felt by many of their own citizens. EU governments, which still have ultimate responsibility for foreign policy, were more measured in their response.

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“I can only express my hope that the peaceful protests do not widen into further violence,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

“We all want to see America come together and not tear itself apart,” U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the Parliament in London.

Borrell, however, who arrived in Brussels last year with a reputation for straight-talking, also issued a warning to Trump not to overstep the mark in his efforts to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back into the international fold.

As host of this year's Group of Seven meetings, Trump has invited Putin to join world leaders for a summit in the U.S. later this year and in the past has called for Russia to be readmitted to the forum on a permanent basis.

Russia has been excluded from what was then the G-8 since annexing Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Borrell said its membership status won't be reconsidered until the country “changes course.”

He said that Trump, as host, has the right to invite whom he likes to the G-7, “But changing membership or changing the format on a permanent basis is not a prerogative.”