On Wednesday 17 August, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, renewed the support of the European Union for Ukraine, stating that Russia’s allegations against the country, which are behind the recent tensions, were "unreliable".
Moscow has accused Kiev of carrying out terrorist incursions into Crimea, and the Ukrainian army of intensifying fighting against the pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, flew to Crimea on Friday 19 August.
“(I) spoke to (Ukrainian) President Poroshenko. We have a similar assessment of the situation in Crimea and Donbas. Russian version of events (is) unreliable”, Tusk tweeted, following a telephone conversation with Poroshenko.
On the same day, the ambassadors of the Political Security Committee of the EU also discussed the mounting tensions. During their meeting, the representatives of the member states of the EU reiterated the fact that the Union does not recognise the annexation of Crimea by Russia. They called for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine to be respected and reiterated their support for the ‘Normandy’ format of negotiations (Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France) and the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. The ambassadors went on to condemn any action which could aggravate the conflict, a source told EUROPE, adding that further sanctions were not on the table.
On Friday 12 August, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini, called on all parties to refrain from any action which could lead to a further escalation of the conflict. She also reiterated the EU’s “unwavering” support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
The situation in Ukraine will be on the agenda of the foreign affairs ministers at their informal meeting in Bratislava on 2 and 3 September. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)