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March 18th, 2018 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in a statement released in connection with the fourth anniversary of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol that the EU supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Mogherini’s statement (here) also addressed human rights violations in Crimea and Sevastopol. “Four years on from the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, the European Union remains firmly committed to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The European Union reiterates that it does not recognize and continues to condemn this violation of international law. It remains a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all States,” reads the statement.
The statement says that the EU remains committed to fully implementing its non-recognition policy, including through restrictive measures. “The European Union does not recognize the holding of elections by the Russian Federation in the Crimean peninsula,” Mogherini said. The EU also condemned the militarization of the peninsula that continues to impact the security situation in the Black Sea region.
Moscow’s way of organizing a referendum – Either you are with us or you are with the Nazis – not unlike G.W. Bush’s “either you are with us or you are with the terrorists”. Photo, courtesy of ITAR-TASS. EPA/Zurab Kurtsikidze
“The European Union condemns the construction of the Kerch Bridge without Ukraine’s consent and the limitations it has already imposed on the freedom of transit,” the statement says. The EU High Representative also noted the deterioration of human rights and fundamental freedoms on the Crimean peninsula after its annexation by Russia. In particular, the EU pointed to what it describes as a flagrant violation of the rights of Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians in Crimea.
The European Union once again called on Moscow to immediately release Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Mykola Semena and all others who were imprisoned and convicted in violation of international law. “The EU calls for full compliance with international human rights standards in the peninsula,” Mogherini said. The European Union also stressed the need for Russia to implement the provisions of the UN General Assembly resolution on Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Russia claims it legally allowed Crimea to accede to the Russian Federation after an independence referendum in Crimea and Crimea’s subsequent request to accede to the Russian Federation. Both the validity of the referendum and the validity of Moscow’s claims are disputed.
F/AK – nsnbc 18.03.2018
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2018/03/18/eu-reiterates-that-russia-must-return-crimea-to-ukraine/
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