Brussels, 26/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 26 March, the presidents of the European Council, European Commission and United States - Herman Van Rompuy, José Manuel Barroso and Barack Obama respectively - stated that they would cooperate on the Ukrainian crisis - particularly in terms of sanctions against Russia.
“The United States and European Union have a firm and coordinated position” on Ukraine, said Van Rompuy. “We are working together to ensure the unacceptable actions have serious consequences”, stated Barroso. “The USA and Europe are united” and “Russia is isolated”, summed up Obama, adding that Russia's president, Vladimir “Putin thought perhaps that through his actions he would provoke dissension between the 28 member states of the EU or between the EU and the United States, but he has failed”.
The leaders reiterated in their joint statement that further measures from Russia to destabilise the situation in Ukraine “would lead to additional and far-reaching consequences for the EU's and US' relations with Russia in a broad range of economic areas”. The EU and the US are coordinating on possible further sanctions. “For Russia to feel the impact [of sanctions], there will be an impact on the global economy. We are mindful that there are differences between the US and member states of the EU”, admitted Obama.
“All the talk on who is doing the most for the sanctions is a sterile debate (…). There is no competition between the EU and the US in terms of sanctions”, said Barroso.
“The sanctions are not a punishment. They are incentive measures to find a diplomatic solution while respecting international law”, said Van Rompuy. The leaders call on Moscow to commit to a constructive dialogue with Ukraine with a view to finding a political solution. Van Rompuy said that the fact that Russia has accepted an OSCE mission is a “first step” (in the right direction), as is the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian foreign affairs ministers.
Europeans and Americans have condemned the illegal annexation of Crimea to Russia, and do not recognise it. “The annexation of Crimea is shameful in the 21st Century”, said Van Rompuy (our translation throughout).
The EU and US hailed the commitment of the Ukrainian government to guarantee the full protection of people belonging to national minorities.
According to a European diplomatic source, although the leaders spoke for a long time about the situation in Ukraine at a press conference, the point was not discussed much during the 65 minute working lunch, because the three leaders had already spoken about the issue at the G7 in The Hague on 24 March. (CG)