We are pleased that today in Riga we, the Prime Ministers of all the Baltic
States and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, had an opportunity to exchange views
on current developments in Ukraine as well to show solidarity with Ukraine and
the Ukrainian people.
Despite the multiple challenges to which Europe and the international
community must currently respond,it is important to continue to maintain our
attention on Ukraine in order to stabilise the situation in the region and
promote lasting peace.
We condemn Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation and occupation of
the Crimean Peninsula. This has changed the security situation in Europe. We
reaffirm Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and recall the
importance of the non-recognition policy of illegal annexation.
We can see that the European Union’s policy in response to Russia’s actions
in Ukraine has been effective.The current situation on the ground give rise to
our cautious optimism that active military fighting will not resume. We
appreciate the contribution by the Ukrainian Government to the implementation
of the Minsk Agreement up to this point, while we also wish to see more
determined actions by Russia and by its backed separatists to implement their
part of the Minsk commitments. Sanctions should remain in place until the
full implementation of the Minsk Agreement. Full implementation would certainly
include the withdrawal of all foreign military formations, military equipment
and mercenaries from Ukrainian territory, renewal of full and effective control
over the international border and release of all illegally detained Ukrainian
citizens. We call for immediate release of Nadia Savchenko, Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko.
We believe that a proactive, consolidated and supportive EU policy should
be continued in favour of the implementation of reforms in Ukraine. Today at
the meeting, the Prime Minister of Ukraine informed us about his government’s
contribution to the reform process. We commend what has been accomplished until
now in a number of areas, including macroeconomic stabilization, financial
decentralization, deregulation, reforms of energy, agricultural and
transport sectors, and police, as well as improvement of the investment
environment.
At the same time, we are aware that Ukraine must move ahead with reform
efforts providing a special focus on the prevention of corruption and reform of
the judicial system. These reforms are also of crucial importance for the implementation
of the European Commission’s recommendations to complete the fulfilment of the
Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. In this context we welcome the adoption today
by Verkhovna Rada of laws related to the fulfilment of the Visa Liberalization
Action Plan and express the hope of early adoption of the remaining
legislation. We look forward to the assessment by the European Commission of
the progress made by Ukraine and regard that it will enable the European Union
Member States to waive the visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens travelling
to the EU in the soonest possible term.
The three Baltic States stand firmly behind the European choice and
European aspirations of Ukraine and Ukrainian people. The Eastern Partnership
is an important instrument for Ukraine’s closer integration with the European
Union. At this point, it is vital to put the Riga Summit decisions into
practice, and that includes continuing work on the implementation of the
Association Agreement. Very soon, as of 1 January 2016, the provisions of the
DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area) part of the European
Union-Ukraine Association Agreement will be applied. We hope that closer
cooperation, building on the basis of this agreement, will open new
opportunities for the Ukrainian economy. We call on the remaining EU Member
States to complete ratification procedures to enable early and full entry into
force of the Association Agreement.
Three Baltic States not only offer full political support for closer
integration of Ukraine with the European Union, but also render practical
assistance by sharing their reform experience with Ukraine in the areas of
public sector and regional reform, agriculture and the fight against
corruption, as well as carrying out educational projects. During the meeting,
we confirmed that the Baltic States shall be providing further support for
Ukraine since we all agree that secure, democratic and economically strong
Ukraine is not only in our interests, but in the interests of all its
neighbours and of Europe as a whole.
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