| Irish Times | - |
German
chancellor Angela Merkel gives a government statement on the situation
in Ukraine in the Bundestag today. Photograph: Getty.
Merkel warns Russia of ‘massive damage’ if it persists
Russian troops have seized control of the Ukrainian region of Crimea on the Black Sea
German chancellor Angela Merkel gives a government statement on the
situation in Ukraine in the Bundestag today. Photograph: Getty
German chancellor Angela Merkel warned Moscow today that it risked “massive” political and economic damage if it refused to change course on Ukraine, saying western leaders were united in their readiness to impose sanctions on Russia if necessary.
The chancellor, using her strongest language since the start of the crisis and removing any suspicion that Germany might seek to avoid a confrontation with Russian president Vladimir Putin, said his actions would lead to “catastrophe” for Ukraine and much more.
“We would not only see it, also as neighbours
of Russia, as a threat. And it would not only change the European
Union’s relationship with Russia,” she said in a speech in parliament.
“No, this would also cause massive damage to Russia, economically and
politically.”
Obama ‘completely rejects’ proposed referendum in Crimea
European security in deep crisis, says Ukrainian MP
Obama hosts Ukraine PM in diplomatic dig at Russia
Ms Merkel has acknowledged that her efforts to
persuade Mr Putin to negotiate via a “contact group” with the transition
government in Kiev - which he accuses of ousting Russian-backed
president Viktor Yanukovich unlawfully - have failed and time is running out.
Russian troops have seized control of the
Ukrainian region of Crimea on the Black Sea, backing separatists who
have taken over the local government and are preparing a referendum on
Sunday which could pave the way for annexation by Russia.
Ms Merkel reiterated that if Mr Putin continues
to snub diplomacy and lets the referendum in Crimea go ahead, the EU -
in close co-ordination with Washington and NATO - would impose tougher sanctions than the largely symbolic measures taken so far.
Travel bans and asset freezes on people and
firms accused by Brussels of helping to violate Ukraine’s territorial
integrity could be approved by EU foreign ministers on Monday.
European leaders, who meet next Thursday, will
discuss action affecting trade with Russia if it presses ahead with its
current course in Ukraine.
“To be absolutely clear, none of us want it to
come to such measures but we are all ready and determined to if they are
unavoidable,” said Ms Merkel.
Germany receives over a third of its gas and oil from Russia and over 6,000 German firms are active there.
A poll last week showed that a majority of
Germans oppose sanctions against Russia. Ms Merkel grew up behind the
Iron Curtain, speaks Russian and has tried to leverage her influence
with Mr Putin, whom she has known for 14 years, in countless phone
calls.
The former KGB officer, who himself speaks German, is said to respect her as a strong leader.
But Ms Merkel lamented in an unusually emotive
speech that the Russian leader was destroying years of post-Soviet
rapprochement and was dragging Europe
back into “a conflict about spheres of influence and territorial claims
that we know from the 19th or 20th-century but thought were a thing of
the past”.
“The territorial integrity of Ukraine cannot be called into question,” she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament, making clear that Crimea could not be compared to Kosovo, which seceded from the former Yugoslavia in 2008.
end quote from:
No comments:
Post a Comment