Brussels, 27/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - As armed men took control of official buildings in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, during the morning of 27 February, the European Commission reiterated the importance of Ukraine's territorial integrity. “All the parties and stakeholders must work for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. This is something very important. Its integrity must be respected by all”, said a Commission spokesperson. European Parliament President Martin Schulz called on Russia to avoid exacerbating tension, and he reiterated that the Parliament fully supports the unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine. He also called for third countries to respect this. “I'm concerned about developments in Crimea. I urge Russia not to take any action that can escalate tension or create misunderstanding”, said NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. NATO ministers meeting in Brussels called on Russia to refrain from any action that could lead to the destabilisation of Ukraine - particularly in Crimea - and to refrain from moving the fleet units based in Sebastopol.
The 47 member governments of the Council of Europe - including Russia - have underlined their full commitment to the respect of Ukraine's territorial integrity, unity and independence. The US has also called on Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton is due to meet Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov on 6 March.
Priority to support Ukraine's stability. Meanwhile Ashton, who is due to visit Kiev again on Monday 3 March to meet the new government led by Arseniy Iatseniouk and the provisional president, Olexander Turchynov, said at the end of a high-level meeting with several commissioners on 26 February that “the immediate priority must be to support the stability of Ukraine - both economically and politically”. (Ashton's meeting was with five commissioners - Olli Rehn for Economic Affairs, Karel De Gucht for Trade, Janusz Lewandowski for the Budget, Kristalina Georgieva for Humanitarian Aid, and Andris Piebalgs for Development - and with the representatives of three commissioners - those of Stefan Füle for Enlargement, of Cecilia Malmström for Home Affairs, and of Günther Oettinger for Energy. Representatives for the presidents of the European Commission and European Council also attended.). During the meeting, the economic support that the EU could give Ukraine both in the short and long term was discussed, as were the means of facilitating human contact in Ukraine and Ukraine's energy needs. Ashton asked Rehn to be the “focal point” on the European side - to coordinate the EU's financial support efforts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the other international financial institutions, the member states and third countries.
Although the EU still does not want to put a figure on its potential aid, the US announced on 26 February that it is in the process of putting together a guarantee on a loan for $1 billion, stating that the EU is considering a loan of $1.5 billion. This figure was rejected by a high-level EU diplomat. Russia has announced that it will take part in discussions on the constitution of an IMF aid plan for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the IMF has announced that it has received an official request for aid from Ukraine and has said it is “ready to respond”. The IMF will send a mission to Ukraine “in the coming days”. (CG with JK)