NATO and EP leaders condemn Kremlin for Kerch Strait misdoing and call on for speedy release of Ukraine’s sea men seized
28 November 2018, 22:15
After meetings with the Speaker of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the European Parliament President Antonio Tajani made public their statements condemning the Kremlin’s actions and calling for immediate release of the Ukrainian navy men and vessels grabbed.
“There is no justification for the use of military force against Ukrainian ships and naval personnel. So we call on Russia to release immediately the Ukrainian sailors and ships it seized yesterday. And we call for calm and restraint,” reads the NATO paper. The document then underlines that “in view of Russia’s use of military force against Ukraine near the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, ?NATO Allies call on Russia to ensure unhindered access to Ukrainian ports and allow freedom of navigation”.
“We reiterate our full support to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and territorial waters. We strongly condemn Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognize. Russia's construction and partial opening of the Kerch Strait bridge represents another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said members of the North Atlantic Alliance.
At the same time, the President of the European Parliament (EP) Antonio Tajani expressed his utmost concern about the dangerous increase of tensions in the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait in recent days which has led to the seizure of Ukrainian vessels and their crews by Russia and shots being fired at them, wounding several Ukrainian navy men. The EP has been dismayed at this use of force by Russia which, against the backdrop of increasing militarization in the area, is unacceptable.
“The European Union expects Russia to ensure unhindered and free passage through the Kerch strait to and from the Azov Sea, in accordance with international law. We call on all for utmost restraint to de-escalate the situation immediately. In this context, we also call strongly on Russia to release the captured vessels, their crew and equipment unconditionally and without delay. The illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia in 2014 remains a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all States. We reconfirm our condemnation of this violation of international law. The construction of the Kerch Bridge constitutes a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The European Union reiterates its full support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. The European Union does not and will not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia,” says the EU’s Azov Sea tension declaration.
The EP President also assured A.Parubiy that the European Union and the European Parliament, in particular, would continue to follow closely the Azov Sea situation and were determined to act appropriately, in close coordination with the international partners.