In the Joint statement the Foreign Ministers of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) state that they support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemn Russia’s aggressive actions and continued violation of international law:
“We reaffirm our strong commitment to an independent, peaceful and prosperous Ukraine. We stand firm in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and Ukraine’s right to decide its own future and foreign policy course free from outside interference, as set out in the Helsinki Final Act. We strongly condemn Russia’s aggressive actions and continued violation of international law and its international obligations. We call on Russia to fully abide by international law.”
The Foreign Ministers of the NATO-Ukraine Commission are deeply concerned about the situation with the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation:
“More than one year has passed since Russia’s illegal and illegitimate self-declared “annexation” of Crimea, which we do not, and will not, recognize, and which we call on Russia to reverse.”
The document also says that Russian-backed separatists continue to violate the Minsk Agreements:
“However, we are concerned by the ceasefire violations along the line of contact primarily by Russian-backed separatists, the use of heavy weapons, and the continued Russian support for separatists, including the transfer of weapons, which are all in contradiction to the Minsk agreements. We are also concerned by the continued obstruction of the work of the OSCE SMM, principally by the separatists.”
The Foreign Ministers of the NUC call on Russia to stop supporting of the separatists, and to release all hostage including Nadia Savchenko:
“All signatories to the Minsk agreements bear responsibility to comply with the commitments to which they signed up, and to ensure their full implementation. Russia has a significant responsibility in this regard; it must stop its continued and deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine through its political, military and financial support for militants, withdraw its forces and military equipment from Ukrainian territory and along the Ukrainian border, and fully support a political solution of the conflict, which has claimed more than six thousand lives and gravely affected the humanitarian situation for civilians. Russia must also use its influence over the separatists to ensure that they abide by the terms of the Minsk agreements. All hostages and unlawfully detained persons must be released, including Nadia Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov.”
The NATO-Ukraine Commission agrees that independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine is the key to Euro-Atlantic security:
“Recalling earlier statements of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, we reiterate that an independent, sovereign and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security.”
