The Foreign Affairs Council met in Brussels on Monday with European diplomats saying Russia's recognition of Ukraine's separatist provinces was a "flagrant violation" of international law.
"Ministers discussed the latest information on a possible intention on the part of the Russian side to recognize the separatist provinces in Ukraine. The ministers agreed to send a strong message of discouragement to Russia to take such a decision, which would be a flagrant violation of international law and the Minsk Agreements", reads a Foreign Ministry (MAE) release sent to AGERPRES.
In the context of the debate on the security situation in the vicinity of Ukraine and the Black Sea, including during a working meeting with the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Bogdan Aurescu stressed that the security situation on the ground is constantly deteriorating, and it is necessary to continue searching for diplomatic solutions to the current crisis.
Aurescu underlined Romania's support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, respectively for the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective of this state, respectively of Georgia and for the European perspective of the Republic of Moldova, Agerpres.ro informs.
He called for the swift completion of the EU's robust and credible sanctions package, including as a deterrent, saying that effective public communication on its content is needed to be effective.
Minister Aurescu reiterated the idea of organizing a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Kiev, as a sign of solidarity and political support. In his view, such a meeting will express the EU's institutional support for Ukraine and will be an eloquent sign of unity among the member states.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister welcomed again the proposal of Minister Aurescu and requested, once again, the organization of the meeting.
According to the MAE, a large majority of member states explicitly expressed strong support at Monday's meeting for this Romanian initiative.
During the talks, Aurescu also expressed concern about the intensification of military cooperation between Moscow and Minsk and the increase in the number of troops and weapons deployed on Belarussian territory. He also expressed support for the preparation of a sixth package of sanctions on Belarus.
European Foreign Ministers discussed and decided on a common approach to keeping their embassies in Ukraine open.
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