Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 April 2014
38. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he and his EU colleagues continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine with particular reference to the need to ensure the establishment of diplomatic structures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15885/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware from previous answers, the crisis in Ukraine has dominated the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) over the last few months, leading to the convening of two extraordinary sessions of the FAC on 20 February and 3 March, both of which I attended. The Taoiseach also attended an extraordinary meeting of the Heads of State and Government on 6 March and the European Council meeting on 20-21 March which had an in depth discussion on developments in Ukraine.
In view of the gravity of the situation, I called in the Russian Ambassador on 3 March to express my deep concern over Russia's actions, asking him to convey this to his authorities. The Ambassador also met with a senior official in my Department on 19 March and again on 31 March and was informed of our firm view that the referendum in Crimea was illegal and that we did not accept the outcome.
In relation to the question of ensuring the establishment of structures in Ukraine, I would refer the Deputy to the Conclusions adopted by the European Council on 20-21 March. The Conclusions welcome the Ukrainian government's commitment to ensure the representative nature and inclusiveness of governmental structures, reflecting regional diversity, to ensure the full protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, to undertake constitutional reform, to investigate all human rights violations and acts of violence and to fight extremism.
In this context the European Union encourages the government of Ukraine to ensure that the Presidential election on 25 May will be free and fair. I would encourage the government of Ukraine to fully avail of the considerable expertise which the OSCE and other international bodies have in that regard.
