The European diplomatic corps has called on the chargé d’affaires of the Russian mission to the European Union to convey to him the “firm rejection” of the illegal annexation of regions of Ukraine after fraudulent referendums, which it will never recognize.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the European External Action Service said that its Executive Director for Russia, Michael Siebert, on Monday summoned the charge d’affaires of the Russian Federation’s mission in Brussels, Kirill Logvinov, as part of a coordinated action with all EU member states, including the Russian ambassador in Lisbon, has been summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the European Diplomatic Corps, “The EU has strongly rejected and strongly condemned the illegal annexation by Russia of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporijia, following the fraudulent ‘referendums’ held by Russia in these regions ., contrary to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
“The EU recognizes and will never recognize this illegal annexation by Russia. These decisions by Russia are null and void and cannot have any legal effect.”warns the European External Action Service again.
The EU diplomatic corps, led by High Representative Josep Borrell, “urged once again on Russia to reverse this illegal act and to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its troops and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine.” “, recalling “the EU’s continued support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”
The appeal by the charge d’affaires of the Russian mission to the EU is part of an action coordinated by the European External Action Service and the 27 Member States “in response to the latest escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine, with the false referenda and the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories last week,” the statement concluded.
Also on Monday, the Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Lisbon, to whom it conveyed the Portuguese government’s “firm rejection” and “unequivocal condemnation” of Russia’s “illegal” annexation of Ukrainian territories.
During the meeting, the director-general of foreign policy, Rui Vinhas, emphasized to the Russian ambassador, Mikhail Kamynin, that the “act of annexation is illegal and constitutes a gross violation of international law, the consequences of which Portugal will never recognize” . the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
“In addition to calling on the Russian authorities to annul their decision, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Lisbon was also informed that this annexation endangers the international order and the European security architecture”emphasized the ministry headed by João Gomes Cravinho.
The Portuguese government also informed the Russian ambassador at the meeting at the Foreign Ministry that “the European Union will take additional restrictive measures and will continue to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”.
Several European Union countries had already called Russian ambassadors this weekend to convey the same message.
Russian President Vladimir Putin formalized in Moscow on Friday the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia – areas partially occupied by Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine, after holding referendums voted by much of considered illegal by the international community.
The State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, ratified the annexation treaties of the Ukrainian regions on Monday.
Russian Senate passes law on ratification of annexation treaties
The Russian Senate today unanimously approved the ratification laws of the annexation treaties signed Friday by the President of Russia and the pro-Russian leaders of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia regions.
The four laws were supported by all members of the Senate.
The documents were handed over to the senators by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The minister stated that “it does not matter” that the “West” does not recognize the referenda “on the incorporation” of these areas into Russia, stressing that it is “a new reality”.
Before the vote, Senator Ludmila Naruzova referred to “the unprecedented fact” of the annexation of areas still partially under Ukraine’s control.
The chairman of the Constitutional Commission, Andrei Klishas, replied that the Constitutional Court has already approved the treaties.
In this way, the legislative procedures on the annexation treaties that come into force after promulgation by the head of state, Vladimir Putin, are completed.
On Monday, the treaties were unanimously ratified without debate in the House of Representatives (Duma).
The treaties stipulate that the official language in the new regions will be Russian, although the Ukrainian language is allowed.
The national currency will be the ruble, the currency of Russia, and the regions – integrated into the Russian Federation – will keep their names: the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk as well as the Kherson and Zaporijia regions.
The legislative process in the Moscow parliament coincided with the loss of territories in the Donbas, in southern Ukraine, forcing Putin to order partial mobilization (reservists) for the armed forces.
Vladimir Putin and pro-Russian leaders signed annexation treaties in the Kremlin on Friday that were rejected by the United States and the European Union, as well as Moscow allies such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the People’s Republic of China, Turkey, India and Serbia.
The four regions represent about 15% of Ukraine’s territory, or about 100,000 square kilometers, slightly more than the size of countries like Hungary and Portugal or slightly less than Bulgaria, according to the Spanish agency EFE.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people having fled — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.4 million to European countries — according to the most recent UN data, which rank this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and Russia of political and economic sanctions.
Source: DN
