In a televised statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent territories of Russia. The announcement further violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and is contrary to the Minsk agreements, writes Catherine Feore of EU Reporter.
The President of the European Council and Commission issued an immediate statement condemning the decision:
“President von der Leyen and President Michel condemn in the strongest possible terms the decision by the Russian President to proceed with the recognition of the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent entities.
This step is a blatant violation of international law as well as of the Minsk agreements.
The Union will react with sanctions against those involved in this illegal act;
The Union reiterates its unwavering support to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.”
Following the Foreign Affairs Council earlier in the evening the EU’s High Representative Josep Borrell made it clear that sanctions would be applied if Putin took this course of action: “We call upon President Putin to respect international law and the main agreements and expect him not to recognize the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.
We are ready to react with a strong united front in case he should decide to do so. We expect that he will not, but if he does, we will react with the strong and united front.”
Borrell added that if Russia were to attack from Belarusian territory sanctions would also apply to it.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Counci on Mondayl. At the meeting, the Council adopted a €1.2 billion macro financial assistance package to send to Ukraine.
“We expect decisions,” Kuleba said. “There are plenty of decisions the European Union can make now to send clear messages to Russia that its escalations will not be tolerated and Ukraine will not be left on its own.”
The package was adopted just 21 days after the Commission proposed it, with the Council of the EU citing Ukraine’s loss of capital due to security threats and uncertainty in the region as reasons to fast-track the agreement. It seeks to support economic stability, energy and governance and it will last for 12 months. This is the 6th such package from the EU since 2014, when Russia illegally annexed Crimea.
Other actions that the EU could take to resolve the situation might include more sanctions on top of those that were imposed in 2014 or a summit between leaders or ministers of the EU and its partners with Russia.
“Summits, meetings at the level of ministers, at the level of leaders; whatever format, whatever way of talking and sitting around the table…is badly needed,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell said. “We will support anything that can make diplomatic conversations the best and only way to look for a solution to the crisis.”
All of this takes place as the French Presidency tries to broker a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. A spokesperson for the French Presidency announced that both Russia and the U.S. agreed to a summit “in principle,” with the U.S. providing the condition that Russia has not already invaded Ukraine at the time of the Summit.