In a letter issued on 19 October 2016, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij appealed to Leaders of the European Union (EU) to maintain and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation and refrain from considering any policy of appeasement in discussions on the future of relations between EU member states and the Russian Federation.
On the eve of a debate on EU relations with the Russian Federation in Brussels, Belgium, the UWC President highlighted that Russian aggression is not isolated in Ukraine. The Russian Federation has blatantly violated critical international agreements including the UN Charter, Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances and Minsk agreements, outright rejected the principles of fundamental democratic values and basic human rights, and with its military aggression in a time of peace has declared an intent to pursue its imperialist ambitions that clearly threaten stability, peace and security in Europe and beyond.
Eugene Czolij noted the troubling recent dichotomy of perceptions of the Russian Federation whereby some international institutions believe that the Russian Federation in fact espouses democratic values and has a critical role to play in addressing global issues, an approach reminiscent of the policies of appeasement that led to the Second World War.
“The European Union must deliver a united message to the Russian Federation that the European community will never compromise or tolerate any violations of the independence and territorial integrity of any country, including Ukraine, and this message must be supported by stronger economic sanctions until the Russian Federation fully implements the Minsk agreements, returns the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and city of Sevastopol to Ukrainian control, withdraws its troops from Eastern Ukraine, and addresses all of the issues that continue to be consequences of the blatant violations of international law and commitments,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
