EU seals closer ties with Ukraine, sanctions Russia
Friday, 21 March 2014
BRUSSELS: The EU welcomed Ukraine into the Western fold Friday, signing the political provisions of a landmark accord as a defiant Russia formally completed its takeover of Crimea.
Seeking some leverage over a newly-assertive Moscow, European Union leaders agreed sanctions against top Russian politicians and stepped up efforts to cut the bloc's debilitating energy dependence on Russia, according to a news agency.
Signing the Association Accord "symbolises the importance both sides attach to this relationship... and the joint will to take it further," EU president Hermann Van Rompuy told Ukraine interim premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
The EU was offering Ukraine its "steadfast support," Van Rompuy said, promising help to get the country's struggling economy back on track.
"We are sure that together we will succeed," Yatsenyuk said after the European Union's 28 heads of state and government signed the document.
At another ceremony, this time in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin signed the documents making Crimea part of Russia.
The annexation of Crimea, after a referendum Sunday condemned as illegal by Washington and Brussels, prompted both to impose sanctions on Russia.
US President Barack Obama blacklisted 20 Russian lawmakers, senior government officials and businessmen, in addition to 11 already targeted, and warned Moscow it faced international isolation if it did not reverse course.
After long talks in Brussels, EU leaders hit 12 more Russians with travel bans and asset freezes, bringing their list to 33.
Among them was Russian Deputy Premier Dmitry Rogozin, also targeted by Washington and who vehemently dismissed the measures.
EU leaders also agreed on the need to fast-forward plans to cut the bloc's energy dependency, notably on Russia which supplies more than a quarter of its natural gas, much of it in pipelines through Ukraine.