G7 leaders’ statement on Ukraine: April 2014
28 Apr 2014 12:24 PM
Joint statement from G7 leaders about the ongoing situation in
Ukraine and additional sanctions on Russia.
We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United
Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the
President of the European Commission, join in expressing our deep concern at
the continued efforts by separatists backed by Russia to destabilize eastern
Ukraine and our commitment to taking further steps to ensure a peaceful and
stable environment for the May 25 presidential election.
We welcomed the positive steps taken by Ukraine to meet its commitments
under the Geneva accord of April 17 by Ukraine, Russia, the European Union, and
the United States. These actions include working towards constitutional reform
and decentralization, proposing an amnesty law for those who will peacefully
leave the buildings they have seized in eastern Ukraine, and supporting the
work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). We also
note that the government of Ukraine has acted with restraint in dealing with
the armed bands illegally occupying government buildings and forming illegal
checkpoints.
In contrast, Russia has taken no concrete actions in support of the Geneva
accord. It has not publicly supported the accord, nor condemned the acts of
pro-separatists seeking to destabilize Ukraine, nor called on armed militants
to leave peacefully the government buildings they’ve occupied and put
down their arms. Instead, it has continued to escalate tensions by increasingly
concerning rhetoric and ongoing threatening military manoeuvers on
Ukraine’s border.
We reiterate our strong condemnation of Russia’s illegal attempt to
annex Crimea and Sevastopol, which we do not recognize. We will now follow
through on the full legal and practical consequences of this illegal
annexation, including but not limited to the economic, trade and financial
areas.
We have now agreed that we will move swiftly to impose additional sanctions
on Russia. Given the urgency of securing the opportunity for a successful and
peaceful democratic vote next month in Ukraine’s presidential elections,
we have committed to act urgently to intensify targeted sanctions and measures
to increase the costs of Russia’s actions.
Russia’s actions in Ukraine and the response from the international
community already have imposed significant costs on its economy. While we
continue to prepare to move to broader, coordinated sanctions, including
sectoral measures should circumstances warrant, as we committed to in The Hague
on March 24, we underscore that the door remains open to a diplomatic
resolution of this crisis, on the basis of the Geneva accord. We urge Russia to
join us in committing to that path.