Athens, 07/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - During their informal Foreign Affairs Council on 4-5 April, EU foreign affairs ministers again discussed the Ukrainian crisis. While nothing very new seems to have come out of their discussions, the ministers nevertheless tried to stand back from the current crisis. According to a European source, the foreign ministers had a “strategic political discussion” and began to form a political package, discussing the form that the political solution to Crimea could take. They also analysed the triangular relations between the EU, Ukraine and Russia - with EU-Ukraine, EU-Russia and Ukraine-Russia relations.
De-escalation is key.
The ministers again recalled that it is important to assist in a de-escalation of the tension and a political solution. “The issue of de-escalation is important (…). It is the main issue”, said the Greek minister for foreign affairs, Evangelos Venizelos, during the press conference, underlining that this would have an impact on creating an appropriate climate for a political solution. “It is very important to continue the challenge of a political and diplomatic dialogue. We need a political solution that is applicable and consensual”, said Venizelos. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton believed that “it is important to persuade Russia to make a de-escalation and to work closely with Ukraine to find a solution”.
Ashton stated that the EU will continue to talk to Moscow to find a solution - as it will with Kiev and the US. However, the EU is also continuing to reflect on additional sanctions, should these be needed: “It is important to ensure that we are ready to take measures, if necessary, and the work is under way”, she said. According to a European source, the ministers have not had real discussions on the sanctions, “because everyone knows what this is”. In the view of another source, there is apparently a consensus not to take new sanctions for the time being. The Spanish foreign affairs minister, José Manuel Garcia-Margallo, said that “at the moment, we are having a more general reflection” than one on sanctions.
Discussion about EU-Russia relations.
The ministers talked about the relationship between the EU and Russia - a partner with which it is necessary to cooperate. “We cannot ignore this conflict. But we will also need Russia if we work on the stabilisation of Ukraine”, said Germany's foreign affairs minister, Frank Walter Steinmeier, stating that “this is why, even if we do not all agree, we must speak to Russia”. He reiterated that “Russia is playing a role, because the issue of economic stabilisation depends also on Russia which, for example, establishes its energy prices for Ukraine”. “We must reflect on how our relationship with Russia should look in the future. We should do this without any illusion”, he added. Garcia-Margallo said that Moscow is an important actor in other issues, such as the war in Syria, the discussions with Iran and the situation in Afghanistan. “Russia is a major actor and the EU would do well to recognise Russia's important role. Confrontation needs to be replaced by participation and collaboration”, he said. “It's not about putting up a Berlin Wall but - on the contrary - it's about establishing a free-trade area which stretches from Cadiz to Vladivostok”, Garcia-Margallo added.
Confronting a new Russia.
In the view of Sweden's foreign affairs minister, Carl Bildt, however, Europeans need to take into account that Russia has changed. “At the same time as we are busy with the current acute crisis, we must have a long-term perspective of where Russia is heading and how the relationship [between the EU and Russia] will be. Because this will have quite an important effect on the whole of Eastern Europe for a long period to come”, he said. “We are having a fundamental debate on what the nature of the Russia that we are now confronting is. I think that it's quite clear that Russia has changed over recent years. There is a new political mentality - at least from the Kremlin”, said Bildt. “The Russians intend to build what I sometimes call an orthodox bastion against the West, the Eurasian Union and the customs union. There is a very aggressive propaganda - the strong East against the decadent West. This is the refrain from the Russian media, which are supported by military means”, he added. In Bildt's view, this leads to “quite deep consequences for our long-term policies”. “We will act step by step. What we see now is the suspension of hig-level political dialogue (…). Of course, we must have a long-term vision”, he stated. (CG)