3. The European Union remains ready to support facilitating dialogue between
Ukraine and Russia. We urge Russia to take steps to de-escalate the crisis,
immediately withdraw its forces back to their pre-crisis numbers and
garrisons in line with its international commitments, begin direct
discussions with the government of Ukraine and avail itself of all relevant
international mechanisms to find a peaceful and negotiated solution, in full
respect of its bilateral and multilateral commitments to respect Ukraine’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this respect, the EU regrets that
the UNSC was not able to adopt a resolution, owing to a veto by the Russian
Federation.

4. There is still time to reverse current developments. Opportunities exist
to avoid a negative spiral. The EU is ready for a constructive dialogue with
all sides. The EU remains committed to the objective of developing the
EU-Russia relationship, based on mutual interest and respect for
international law. The Council regrets that Russia’s actions contradict
these objectives. The Council urges the Russian Federation not to take steps
to annex Crimea in violation of international law.

Any further steps by the Russian Federation to destabilise the situation in
Ukraine would lead to additional and far-reaching consequences for relations
in a broad range of economic areas between the European Union and its Member
States, on the one hand, and the Russian Federation, on the other hand. The
European Union calls on Russia to return to developing a strategic
partnership with the EU instead of isolating itself further diplomatically
and economically.

5. The Council considers that there is an urgent need for an international
presence on the ground throughout Ukraine, including in Crimea. The Council
supports the swift deployment of an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to
Ukraine.

6. The Council welcomes the Commission’s proposal for temporarily removing
customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU and looks forward to its swift
adoption. It furthermore looks forward to the signing of the political
provisions of the Association Agreement on 21 March in Brussels and confirms
its commitment to proceed to the signature and conclusion of the remaining
parts of the Agreement which together with the political provisions
constitute a single instrument. These steps will confirm Ukraine’s free and
sovereign decision to pursue Ukraine’s political association and economic
integration with the European Union.

7. The European Union is ready to stand by Ukraine and committed to provide
strong financial support to its economic and financial stabilisation, as
presented by the European Commission in its assistance package to Ukraine
which we are committed to implement rapidly. The Council encourages the EIB
to continue its operations in Ukraine. IMF support will be critical to
enabling assistance from the European Union as the immediate priority is to
restore macroeconomic stability through sound fiscal, monetary and exchange
rate policies. At the same time, we reiterate our call on the Ukrainian
government to launch urgently an ambitious set of structural reforms,
including notably the fight against corruption and enhancing transparency of
fiscal expenditure.

8. The EU also confirmed its readiness to continue to assist Ukraine in
securing its energy supply through further diversification, enhanced energy
efficiency, and effective interconnections with the European Union.

9. The European Union commends the measured response shown so far by Ukraine.
The EU again encourages the Ukrainian authorities to implement an inclusive
process, to pursue their efforts to ensure free and fair elections and to
advance constitutional reform. All human rights violations and acts of
violence need to be properly investigated and measures need to be stepped up
to combat impunity. In this context, the EU looks forward to the early
establishment of the Council of Europe International Advisory Panel. The EU
also calls on the Ukrainian authorities to continue to reach out to all
Ukrainian regions and population groups and to ensure the full protection of
the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, drawing on the
expertise of the Council of Europe and the OSCE. It also support the Council
of Europe tasking of its Advisory Committee for the framework convention of
protection of minorities to review the situation of national minorities in
Ukraine.

10. The Council reiterates the EU’s commitment to enhance people-to-people
contacts between the citizens of the European Union and Ukraine, i.a.
through the visa liberalisation process, in line with agreed conditions in
the framework of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan.