President Putin! Do not start a war in Ukraine!
Date
03 Mar 2014
Sections
Europe's East
Global Europe
Justice & Home Affairs
The President of the European People’s Party (EPP) and Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, Joseph Daul and the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, Elmar Brok made the following statement on the situation in Crimea and Ukraine: "We are following the events in Crimea with major concern. On behalf of the largest political family in the European Union we strongly condemn the decision to deploy troops in Ukraine and we call on President Putin to stop any influx of Russian troops on the sovereign territory of Ukraine. It is despicable that Russia would use its military force and violate the territorial integrity of an independent state which is Ukraine. Russia’s provocative actions risk a military confrontation and bloodshed which could be too big to contemplate. Invasion of Ukraine should stop now. No actsof aggression or intervention are tolerated. We call on Russia again to respect its international obligations, first and foremost the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances in which the Russian Federation with the US and the UK guaranteed the existing borders of Ukraine. Russia has committed itself in the same act to refraining from economic coercion designed to subordinate to its own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind. If Russia is a responsible actor on the international scene it has to respect its own obligations. Today Ukraine needs peace, reconciliation and focus on overcoming severe economic difficulties. It does not need a military conflict fuelled by its eastern neighbour’s geopolitical ambitions. That is why we express our full support to the new government headed by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk that will ensure the equality of all citizens, including minorities and take Ukraine out of its political and economic crisis.”
The EPP Group is by far the largest political group in the European Parliament with 274 Members from 27 Member States.
MEP Contacts
Joseph DAUL
BRU - Tel: +32 (0)2 2845525 Fax: +32 (0)2 2849525
STR - Tel: +33 (0)3 88 175525 Fax: +33 (0)3 88 179525
Elmar BROK
BRU - Tel: +32 (0)2 2845323 Fax: +32 (0)2 2849323
STR - Tel: +33 (0)3 88 175323 Fax: +33 (0)3 88 179323
Press Contacts
Delia Vlase
Phone: +32 476 33 10 38
E-mail: delia.vlase@europarl.europa.eu
Lasse Böhm
Phone: +32 484 65 68 97
E-mail: lasse.boehm@europarl.europa.eu