In Valletta on Friday 28 April, the French Foreign Minister, Jean Marc Ayrault, called on Russia to really change tack on the Ukrainian question.
“When I entered office, there was a time when I felt that the question of sanctions jeopardised European unity. But we have held firm (…). I do not feel that the sanctions are in question for the forthcoming period. Russia should look at it a bit more attentively and change tack”, he told a small group of journalists, including EUROPE, at the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Malta (our translation). He went on to say that although certain member states may have particular interests, the Twenty-Eight shared the idea of the importance of respecting the integrity of Ukraine's borders.
When asked by EUROPE about the implementation of the Minsk agreement for peace in eastern Ukraine, Ayrault acknowledged that compliance with this agreement was difficult. “All parties have to take their responsibilities in this situation, the Russians and the separatists, over whom the Russians have considerable influence, and the Ukrainians themselves. The war has left 10,000 people dead and there are more every day due to the ceasefire breaches”, he stressed. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)