Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who came to present his complaints to his EU counterparts on Monday 10 December, left with promises, but no further concrete EU action on the Azov Sea issue.
Thus, according to Mr Klimkin, the Europeans, in addition to the assurance that they would redouble their efforts to free Ukrainian seafarers arrested in the Azov Sea (see EUROPE 12124), indicated that they were considering the introduction of an international mechanism "for example international monitoring", for freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait. “Of course, further discussions with Russia are needed”, the Ukrainian added.
Before the press, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, confirmed that she had pleaded with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, for the immediate release of seafarers and their ships, for freedom of navigation in the Azov Sea, as did the Member States, she said.
For Mr Klimkin, it is also “fundamental not to let Russia destabilise Donbass and southern Ukraine”. To this end, it calls on the EU to finance projects, such as water supply or energy efficiency projects. “I hope this will be discussed very quickly” he said.
According to Ms Mogherini, the EU and Member States are considering concrete measures to further assist the regions most affected by a limitation of cargo traffic. “We discussed with Mr Klimkin and the Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, projects that the EU could fund and support to help the region” she explained, adding that work would now continue at the service level.
Finally, Mr Klimkin called for additional sanctions, whether targeted measures (against individuals or entities) or against Russian port facilities. “This will be under consideration”, he said, although Ms Mogherini only pointed out that sanctions were one element among others available to the EU to exert pressure, but that the most important was the "practical measures" that the EU could give to Ukraine.
The introduction of new sanctions divides Europeans. But at least Mr Klimkin received the support of the Lithuanian Linas Linkevičius. “Sanctions for this incident [in the Azov Sea on 25 November] should be on the table”, he said on his arrival at the Council. He said that his country had listed 20 military personnel, supervisors and other fleet leaders in the Black Sea related to the incident. “It would be more effective at European level than at national level”, he said.
Sanctions related to the Donbass elections
In addition, as announced in our pages (see EUROPE 12153), the Council sanctioned nine people for their involvement in the elections held on 11 November in the Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People's Republics, which the EU considered illegal and illegitimate.
These are the Chairmen of the DPR's Central Election Commissions, Olga Pozdnyakova, and the LPR's Central Election Commissions, Elena Kravchenko, their Vice-Chairmen, Aleksey Naydenko and Maksim Svidchenko respectively, and the Secretaries of the Commissions, Vladimir Vysotskiy (DPR) and Ekaterina Tereshchenko (LPR). Vladimir Bidyovka, President of the 'People's Council' of the 'Donetsk People's Republic', and his counterpart in Luhansk, Denis Miroshnichenko, and the 'elected leader' of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, are also being imposed a visa ban and an asset freeze. “Through their actions, they have further compromised Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence”, the Council said in its statement.
With this new decision, 164 persons and 44 entities are subject to measures for their actions against the territorial integrity of Ukraine. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)