Reactions to the developments in Ukraine

Tension has escalated in Ukraine, while international organizations continue talks with a view to finding the best possible solution to Romania’s neighbor Ukraine. The UN Security Council and the North Atlantic Council have already met in emergency sessions, while the leaders of the world’s superpowers have had constant phone talks. Kiev has seen several visits of high-ranking officials. The European Union on Thursday will hold an emergency summit after Monday’s emergency meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels. Attending the latter meeting, Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean said the following.

Roxana Vasile, 04.03.2014, 13:32

Tension has escalated in Ukraine, while international organizations continue talks with a view to finding the best possible solution to Romania’s neighbor Ukraine. The UN Security Council and the North Atlantic Council have already met in emergency sessions, while the leaders of the world’s superpowers have had constant phone talks. Kiev has seen several visits of high-ranking officials. The European Union on Thursday will hold an emergency summit after Monday’s emergency meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels. Attending the latter meeting, Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean said the following.

“Russia’s recent military intervention represents a blatant violation of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine, but also a clear breach of international law, of several bilateral agreements Ukraine had previously signed with the Russian Federation and of other important international documents”.

Minister Corlatean went on to say there was a deep concern across the EU over the series of frozen conflicts in regions such as Nagorno-Karabah, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transdniestr. This is precisely why the EU Foreign Ministers have agreed to pay increased attention to those areas in the coming period and have called for supporting Moldova and Georgia’s efforts of joining the EU. Moldovan Ambassador to Bucharest Iurie Renita has noted the similarity between the situation in Crimea and that in the breakaway region of Transdniestr; he told our radio station.

“We would like to express our deepest concern over the developments in Ukraine and Crimea in particular, with an extremely negative impact on the Republic of Moldova. You are well aware we have a breakaway region in the east of our country that does not recognize the Moldovan authorities. The conflict in Crimea is clearly a destabilizing factor that might fuel tension and make things spiral out of control. For this reason the Republic of Moldova has a direct and deep interest to seek an urgent solution in order to prevent the situation in Ukraine from escalating”.

From the very onset of the conflict, Poland has taken an active role in coming up with a peaceful solution. Polish Ambassador to Bucharest Marek Szczygiel told Radio Romania that Warsaw wanted the entire international community to mobilize, now more than ever. The international community cannot stand by and do nothing, the ambassador argues, since this is an unprecedented situation in the last decades. Russia must observe the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a country bordering Romania, Moldova and Poland.