EU8 Condemn Russian Occupation of Ukraine

Following up on yesterday’s post regarding Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko’s address at the UN Security Council meeting, I am providing the full text of the EU8 members’ joint statement on Ukraine. Yelchenko alluded to this statement in his remarks.

In it, the European countries expressed their support for the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and protested Russia’s plan to hold elections in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

EU8 Members Joint Statement on Ukraine

Joint EU8 statement on Ukraine, delivered by Ambassador Karen Pierce on behalf of the five EU Members of the United Nations Security Council France, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and Italy, Belgium and Germany, as former and future EU Members of the Security Council, 30 October 2018, New York.

I would like to make the following statement today on behalf of the five EU Members of the Security Council (France, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the UK), and Italy, Belgium and Germany, as former and future EU Members of the Security Council, which demonstrates the continuity of the EU’s position on Ukraine.

We as Member States of the European Union fully support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within the internationally recognized borders.

We condemn the illegitimate “elections” planned for 11 November in the non-government controlled territories of the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic” and “Donetsk People’s Republic”. If held, these illegitimate “elections” would contravene commitments made under the Minsk agreements and violate Ukrainian law. Any such illegal elections would be incompatible with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

We call on the international community to stand united in opposing these illegitimate “elections” that can only serve to undermine efforts to achieve peace in the region. We urge the separatists to abandon the plans for “elections” and call on Russia to bring its considerable influence to bear to stop the “elections” from taking place.

We welcome the renewal of the special status law in the Ukrainian Rada. We urge all sides, particularly the Russian-backed separatists, to commit to full implementation of the Minsk Agreements, beginning with a comprehensive ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weaponry. We fully support the efforts within the Normandy format for implementing the Minsk Agreements.

We remain convinced that a peaceful resolution of the conflict is possible. Only progress on the diplomatic front will bring us to a point where legitimate and credible elections can be held in eastern Ukraine in line with the Minsk agreements. 

Russia must play its part by ending its financial and military support to the separatists and withdrawing its armed forces and military equipment from Ukrainian territory.

We also express our concern regarding the degraded humanitarian situation in the conflict area, particularly as the winter season approaches. We also urge all parties to the conflict to re-establish full access of all international humanitarian organizations to the non-government controlled areas and to allow smooth and speedy delivery of humanitarian assistance in line with humanitarian principles and International Humanitarian Law.

Poroshenko Notes Further Isolation of Russia

As Ukrainian officials have underscored in the United Nations and elsewhere, the global community is isolating Russia from diplomatically and politically promoting its campaign to expand its occupation of Ukraine.

In Kyiv, President Petro Poroshenko noted his statement on Facebook: “The results of the UN Security Council meeting on the ‘Ukrainian issue’ obviously reaffirmed the ongoing international isolation of Moscow, which demonstrates audacious behavior and stubborn reluctance to hear the legitimate calls of the international community. An extremely illustrative and eloquent outcome of the UN Security Council meeting on the ‘Ukrainian issue’ is a strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian president also emphasized that “The Kremlin must stop its brutal aggression in Donbas, terminate the supply of Russian weapons and technology to the occupied territory and stop the violation of the Minsk agreements. Crimea must be de-occupied, Russia’s aggressive policy in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait is unacceptable.”

Scroll down to read yesterday’s blog about the Ukrainian statement at the Security Council meeting.