On Wednesday, 27 February, foreign ministers from nine Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Sweden) and their Ukrainian and Canadian counterparts, called on the West not to abandon Ukraine five years after the Maidan events.
In an article entitled ‘The West must not abandon Crimea and Ukraine to Russian aggression’, published in The Guardian, the ministers emphasised that “providing aid and assistance to Ukraine is crucial, as Ukraine's security is linked to the security of the whole of Europe”.
They expressed their readiness to defend international law and their individual and collective security. “The policy of coordinated international sanctions sends a clear message to Russia that disregard for international law has consequences”, the foreign ministers added. In their opinion, the situation in Ukraine has also shown that it is necessary to “strengthen the resilience of our societies against a range of types of attack and interference”.
Despite Russian aggression, the people of Ukraine are “more united than ever” in their support of their country's European orientation, the ministers said, adding that Ukraine is profoundly different from Ukraine pre-2014 and has never before been “so close to Europe and European values”. "Ukraine still has many demanding tasks and reforms to implement, but impressive progress has been made despite ongoing Russian aggression", they said.
On the other hand, Ministers are concerned that Crimea “under Russian occupation”, is regressing, that its inhabitants are becoming increasingly isolated and that human rights and socio-economic conditions continue to deteriorate. “We will neither forget nor abandon Crimea”, they warned, promising to continue their policy of non-recognition of this illegal annexation.
Ministers also emphasised that tensions increased in 2018 in and around the Sea of Azov (see other news), whether with construction of the Kerch Bridge (see EUROPE 12021) or the “unjustified” attack on Ukrainian ships in late November (see EUROPE 12146). They reiterated their call for "Russia to release the arrested Ukrainian sailors, return the captured vessels and respect its international commitments by ensuring free navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait". (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)