Western Concerns Over the Developments in Ukraine

Unrest in eastern Ukraine is escalating. The EU and the United States are still looking for political solutions to the crisis.

România Internațional, 15.04.2014, 13:12

The European Union and the United States have expressed their growing concern over the developments in eastern and southeastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian militants have occupied official buildings and taken control of several cities in the area. The last few days have also seen violence and armed clashes. EU Foreign Ministers met in Luxembourg on Monday, where they condemned the recent violence in eastern Ukraine, calling on Russia to withdraw all troops deployed on the Ukrainian border.

The EU officials reiterated their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. EU Foreign Ministers also decided to extend sanctions imposed on Russia, expanding the list of Russian dignitaries deemed responsible for fuelling tensions in eastern Ukraine. The EU officials also highlighted the importance of entertaining a dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, as part of a multilateral mechanism included, with the involvement of the EU and the US, aimed at finding political solutions to the crisis.

Attending the Luxembourg meeting, Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean warned against the risk of Ukrainian instability spilling over into the entire region. Concerned about the recent events in neighbouring Ukraine, Romania, an EU and NATO outpost, has lately called on its Western allies to beef up their military built-up in the region. Over the past few days, the Romanian port of Constanta on the Black Sea Coast has been playing host to USS destroyer Donald Cook, which according to the US Department of Defense is tasked with ensuring the security of NATO allies and partners in the Black Sea region.

Until Thursday this week, Romanian and US military will be involved in joint naval drills in Romanian and international waters. Romania’s president Traian Basescu, who had visited the destroyer, said that the US destroyer would be replaced by a US frigate once its mission is completed. On the other hand, the president said he was not an adversary of Moscow, but he simply opposed some of Russia’s lines of action. Basescu could not help notice that Moscow had created a certain “fire circle” around the Black Sea. Traian Basescu:

“Nagorno-Karabath, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transdniestr and now Crimea. The big issue at stake here is that Moscow controls all these frozen conflicts. It has the ability to solve them very quickly, by observing international law, or it can choose to make them escalate into violence, to serve its own interests. For Romania, this is something affecting the country’s national security”.

We recall that a French warship is also taking part in NATO’s wide-scale military drills in the Black Sea, aimed at securing the eastern flank of the North-Atlantic Alliance.