EU's Ashton Urges Moscow to Abide by Treaties, Britain Summons Russia Ambassador
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged Russia on Saturday to refrain from deploying its armed forces in Ukraine and to abide by international law.
"I deplore today's decision by Russia on the use of armed forces in Ukraine," she said in a statement. "This is an unwarranted escalation of tensions.
"I therefore call upon the Russian Federation not to dispatch such troops, but to promote its views through peaceful means."
"The unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be respected at all times and by all sides," she added.
"Any violation of these principles is unacceptable. More than ever, restraint and sense of responsibility are needed."
Ashton, who has summoned the European Union's 28 foreign ministers to Brussels on Monday for crisis talks, called "on all sides to decrease the tensions immediately through dialogue."
Any movement or stationing of troops should comply with international law and commitments, "notably under the U.N. Charter and the OSCE Final Act, the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 as well as bilateral treaties such as the one regulating the stationing of the Black Sea Fleet."
She also praised Ukraine's transitional government for its "measured response" to the "extremely worrying developments" in Crimea in the last few days.
Ashton said she would meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after Monday's EU crisis talks and would go to Kiev on Wednesday.
Also, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the immediate restoration of calm and dialogue to resolve the escalating crisis in Ukraine.
Also, the U.N. chief called for the immediate restoration of calm in Ukraine Saturday as the Security Council held emergency talks on the escalating crisis.
Ban Ki-moon is "gravely concerned" and will discuss unfolding events directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone, his spokesman said.
"He calls for an immediate restoration of calm and direct dialogue between all concerned to solve the current crisis," Martin Nesirky told reporters.
"The secretary general wants to speak to President Putin directly to express his concerns. But also to hear directly from President Putin his assessment of the situation."
The U.N. Security Council began a second round of emergency talks in 24 hours after Russia's parliament approved the deployment of troops to Ukraine.
Ban reiterated his call "for the full respect for, and preservation of, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," his spokesman said.
The U.N. envoy to Ukraine, Robert Serry, said Saturday he was leaving the country because it was impossible to visit the contested Crimea region as requested following an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
"I have since been in touch with the authorities of the autonomous republic of Crimea and have come to the conclusion that a visit to Crimea today is not possible," Serry said in a statement from Kiev.
"I will therefore proceed to Geneva, where I will tomorrow brief the secretary general on my mission and consult with him on next steps."
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that there was "no excuse" for armed intervention in Ukraine.
"There can be no excuse for outside military intervention in Ukraine -- a point I made to President (Vladimir) Putin when we spoke yesterday," Cameron said in a statement.
"Everyone must think carefully about their actions and work to lower, not escalate, tensions. The world is watching."
Earlier on Saturday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the Russian parliament's decision to authorize military action in Ukraine and said he had summoned the Russian ambassador to register his concerns.
"This action is a potentially grave threat to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We condemn any act of aggression against Ukraine," Hague said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The foreign secretary will visit Kiev on Sunday for talks with the interim Ukrainian government on the rapidly escalating situation in the Crimea.
The Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin had not yet taken a decision on sending troops to Ukraine, after he was given the green light from parliament.
Washington has warned that such a deployment would result in "costs" for Moscow.
Hague said: "I am deeply concerned at the escalation of tensions in Ukraine, and the decision of the Russian parliament to authorize military action on Ukrainian soil against the wishes of the Ukrainian government."
He said he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "to urge steps to calm this dangerous situation", while the Foreign Office also summoned the Russian ambassador to London "to register our deep concerns".
In a telephone call with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Hague also agreed "on the need for international diplomatic action to address the crisis".
EU foreign ministers will hold a new round of crisis talks on Ukraine in Brussels on Monday, when Hague said he would raise the issue of a further asset freeze.
During his visit to Kiev, Hague said he would discuss how Britain can help the Ukrainian government recover "improperly acquired assets".
"The EU must agree urgently an asset freezing regime to target those suspected of laundering the proceeds of corruption," Hague said, without naming names.
"On my instructions, the British embassy in Kiev has told the Ukrainian government that we stand ready to provide Ukraine with technical advice on asset recovery."
Hague spoke to acting Ukrainian president Oleksandr Turchynov on Friday, offering Britain's support and urging him to take steps to unify the crisis-hit country.
Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande warned that Ukraine's sovereignty was under threat following the Russian parliament's decision.
The move by the upper house of parliament "poses a real threat to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine," Hollande said in a statement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said she was concerned by the developments in Crimea.
"What is happening in Crimea worries us," Merkel said in a speech at a cultural event in Berlin, stressing the importance of "preserving the territorial integrity" of Ukraine.
The German leader spoke to interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk by telephone on Saturday, a government spokesman told Agence France Presse, while declining to reveal details of the conversation.
Source: Agence France Presse
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