The European Union supports Ukraine and calls on the Russian Federation to refrain from steps that may lead to an escalation amid the Russian troops' contraction to the Ukrainian border, as was stated by Peter Stano, representative of the European External Affairs Service.
Mr. Stano has said that the European Union is closely following the developments in Donbas and is seriously concerned about the deterioration of the situation and the movement of Russian troops closer to the Ukrainian border and in the illegally annexed Crimea.
"The European Union, its member states, and the institutions – we are following very closely, and with severe concern, the worsening of the security situation in eastern Ukraine and Russian troops' movements close to the Ukrainian border and also in the illegally annexed Crimea. The EU has called several times, through the High Representative but also through the individual leaders of the EU member states, for calm, for de-escalation, and we stress that the full implementation of the Minsk agreements is the only way forward and guarantee for a political and peaceful solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine," Stano said.
He added that the European Union calls on Russia to refrain from increasing tension between the countries.
"Hopefully, there will be no escalation, hopefully, there will be no conflict. It would be really unacceptable and all the current contacts and diplomatic efforts which are ongoing are actually aimed at preventing this," Stano said a press briefing in Brussels on April 12.
He also recalled that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia will be on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council's meeting to be attended by Ukraine's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba.