MFA, Monday, 17 March 2014
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Following this morning’s informal
meeting of the 28 EU Foreign Ministers with the Foreign Minister of
Ukraine, and before the opening of the EU Foreign Affairs Council under
the Presidency of High Representative Catherine Ashton, Deputy Prime
Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos made the following
statement on the situation in Ukraine and yesterday’s referendum in
Crimea:
“The common European stance is very clear. The European policy must be a policy of principles. Our goal is, at the same time, respect for international law and the safeguarding of stability and peace. The solutions must always be political and diplomatic, and the European Union must ensure its credibility and ability to function as a basic factor for stability on the European continent. Thus, our message is a message of support for international law, but, at the same time, of the need for the political and diplomatic channels to be preserved and to function.”
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17/3/14
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Russia open to discuss with West any problem on Ukraine, except Crimean referendum — MP...
ReplyDeleteThe Russian Federation is prepared to discuss with the West any problems pertaining to Ukraine, except for the results of Sunday's referendum, MP Vyacheslav Timchenko, who is First Deputy Head of the United Russia faction at the State Duma, declared on Monday.
"We are prepared to carry on a broad dialogue with our Western partners on a big range of issues pertaining to Ukraine, including economic assistance to Ukraine. We are ready to discuss anything except the results of the referendum, which are unquestionable. The people of Crimea have had their say of tangible importance. Judging by the fact of the referendum, Crimea has become the Russian land since today," Timchenko declared.
"It was the only correct decision under the existing circumstances. It was not a matter of someone's choice. It was a question put by Shakespeare's Hamlet -"to be or not to be",Timchenko stressed.
He expects Russia to adopt all the necessary resolutions on Crimea's accession to Russia in the near future, including on the fate of the Crimean Tatars........http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/723918
17/3/14
EU ministers to mull weapons embargo against Russia - Lithuania FM....
ReplyDeleteThe EU foreign ministers would discuss weapons embargo against Russia at their meeting in Brussels on Monday that would mull sanctions over Crimea, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said.
“We will be discussing all these issues,” he said in reply to a reporter’s query whether the European Union could impose an embargo on weapons supplies to Russia.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/723922
17/3/14
Russia ready to cooperate with partners for resolving crisis in Ukraine – Russian Foreign Ministry....
ReplyDeleteMoscow urges contact group to ensure Ukraine’s non-bloc status fixed in UN Security Council resolution – Russian Foreign Ministry. "As has been repeatedly explained by the Russian side, the current situation in Ukraine was not created by us but resulted from a deep crisis that affected the Ukrainian state, polarized the Ukrainian society and aggravated the antagonistic differences between various parts of the country. Efforts by the international community should aim precisely at helping to overcome those differences," the statement says.
"With this in mind and taking into account requests from the United States and European countries, we have prepared and submitted to our main partners in the United States, Europe and other regions our proposals on how external assistance should be organized to promote the steps the Ukrainians themselves should take to end the crisis. For that purpose, we suggested creating a contact group on support to Ukraine, made up so as to suit all the Ukrainian political forces," the ministry said.
Moscow is ready to cooperate with foreign partners to form a multilateral mechanism without delay for resolving the crisis in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Moscow has urged that the right of Crimea to determine its own future in keeping with the results of the free expression of its people’s will during the referendum of March 16th 2014, be respected, the Russian Foreign Ministry points out in a statement. Russia has suggested that the United States and the European Union set up a compact support group for Ukraine consisting of officials that would prove acceptable to all of Ukraine’s political forces.............Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_17/Russia-ready-to-cooperate-with-partners-to-form-mechanism-for-resolving-crisis-in-Ukraine-Russian-Foreign-Ministry-6032/
17/3/14
Bill on severing diplomatic relations with Russia registered in Ukrainian parliament....
ReplyDeleteThe proposal includes denunciation of the friendship and cooperation deal, as well as the agreement on the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, valid until 2042.
A bill on Ukraine’s course to sever diplomatic relations with Russia, denounce Ukrainian-Russian treaties and apply for entry to the European Union and NATO was on Monday registered in the secretariat of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on an initiative from radical MP Oleh Lyashko.
The draft law contains a demand to Rada-appointed Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov to “declare full combat alert of the armed forces, conduct the nationwide mobilization of Ukrainian nationals liable for military service and create militia units.”
The bill also urges the self-proclaimed Ukrainian authorities to ask the governments of the United States and other NATO member countries “to provide the maximum possible material and technical assistance in the form of modern military hardware and armaments,” “sever diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation” and impose a visa regime.
The proposal also includes denunciation of the friendship and cooperation deal, as well as the agreement on the stay of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, which is valid until 2042. The bill says the cost of Russian natural gas transit via Ukraine should be raised twelve-fold to $500 per 1,000 cubic meters and proposes terminating the transit should Russia refuse to pay the price.
In line with the draft law, the Ukrainian law enforcement should adopt “tough measures to stop any separatist actions” in eastern Ukraine. The bill also proposes banning Russian TV broadcasts and press distribution. It proposes stripping Ukrainians taking part in “separatist rallies” of Ukrainian citizenship, bringing them to criminal account and other measures.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych left Ukraine in February after a coup in his country. He told reporters in southern Russia last Tuesday that he remained the legitimate Ukrainian leader despite “an anti-constitutional seizure of power by armed radicals.” Russia considers Yanukovych the legitimate Ukrainian president.
Crimea held a plebiscite on whether to secede from Ukraine and accede to Russia on Sunday. About 97% of voters chose the option of accession to the Russian Federation. Crimea’s parliament, the Supreme Council, on Monday declared Crimea an independent sovereign state.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said early on Monday that Crimea’s decision to hold the referendum in the republic where most residents are Russians was in line with international law and the UN Charter.
The self-proclaimed new Ukrainian authorities and the West have cried foul over the Crimean referendum claiming the vote was illegal.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/723958
17/3/14
Russia 'bewildered' by UN aide’s biased remark on human rights in Ukraine...
ReplyDeleteThe Russian Foreign Ministry has said it is bewildered by the remarks that the United Nations’ Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, has voiced over the situation in Ukraine and accused him of using double standards.
"We are stunned and cannot comprehend the biased and unobjective assessment by Simonovic of the human rights situation in this country," the ministry said on its website on Monday.
"Simonovic's ranting about some activists and journalists allegedly searched by individuals in uniforms and his silence over the fact that extremists put bounties on journalists' heads, and that the self-proclaimed government follows orders to shut down foreign television channels, massively closes entry for foreign correspondents, and even makes attempts to inhibit re-transmission of satellite signals can be called nothing other than double standards," the ministry noted.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_17/Russia-bewildered-by-UN-aide-s-biased-remark-on-human-rights-in-Ukraine-8241/
17/3/14
Ukraine crisis: EU and US impose sanctions over Crimea...
ReplyDeleteThe EU and US have announced travel bans and asset freezes against a number of officials from Russia and Ukraine.
The moves follow Sunday's referendum in Crimea, in which officials say 97% of voters backed breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia.
The individuals targeted by the sanctions are seen as having played a key role in the referendum, which Kiev, the US and EU deem illegal..............http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26613567
17/3/14