European Commission, MEMO, Brussels, 12 June 2014:
President Barroso made the following statement
during a press conference with President of Georgia Giorgi
Margvelashvili, on occasion of his official visit to Georgia:
“I called today President Poroshenko to
discuss the situation in Ukraine, just before meeting the President. I
welcomed his peace initiative and direct talks with Russia, the fact
that now President Poroshenko and President Putin are speaking directly
is a positive step forward.
At the same time President Poroshenko
conveyed to me his extreme concern with the ongoing armed unrest in
Eastern Ukraine and also today the incident with Russian tanks that
according to the Ukrainian authorities have crossed into Ukrainian
territory.
The European Union has stated several times
and I want to repeat it today that it is very important that Russia
ceases any kind of military actions in this area.
- We believe that illegal armed groups need to disarm and we call on Russia to withdraw the authorisation for use of force in Ukraine.
So once again, I make an appeal to Russia to
engage constructively with Ukraine and to give concrete steps and clear
evidence of de-escalating efforts.
And coming back to the agreements with
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia that we are going to sign in Brussels in
June 27, I want to reiterate our willingness, as European Union, to
pursue talks with Russia, to discuss the concrete implementation of
these agreements, in case there are any concerns on the Russian side. Of
course we have to respect the content of these agreements, what was
already decided by the governments of these countries, but if there are
some concerns, if there are technical issues that the Russian
authorities want to clarify, we are ready for it.
So our message, as European Union, is a
message of dialogue and cooperation, not a message of confrontation. At
the same time we have to be firm in the respect of the sovereign right
of any country to decide its own future.”
The full transcript of the President’s speech at the press conference will be available tomorrow morning.
[europa.eu]
12/6/14
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Moscow urges international reaction to use of prohibited ammunition in Ukraine (incendiary bombs)
Ουκρανία: Τρία τανκς ρωσικά τανκς πέρασαν τα σύνορα
- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has told President Vladimir Putin that reports of Russian tanks moving into Ukrainian territory are unacceptable...
Russia should start constructive dialogue with Ukraine and take specific steps to de-escalate tensions in its relations with Kiev, Jose Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Union’s executive body, the European Commission, said Thursday....
ReplyDeleteBarroso also told journalists that he had a phone conversation Thursday with new Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko to discuss the situation in Ukraine’s embattled eastern regions.
A Kiev-led punitive operation against federalization supporters in Ukraine's Southeast that involves armored vehicles, heavy artillery and attack aviation has already claimed hundreds of lives, including civilian, and left some buildings destroyed and damaged.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/735967
13/6/14