Phone call between President Barroso and President Yanukovych on the situation in Ukraine

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 23 januari 2014.

European Commission

MEMO

Brussels, 23 January 2014

Phone call between President Barroso and President Yanukovych on the situation in Ukraine

In light of the escalating violence in Ukraine, President Barroso telephoned President Yanukovych of Ukraine this morning.

During the telephone call, President Barroso made notably the following points:

President Barroso deplored in the strongest possible terms the escalation of violence, and reports of violence against journalists, and expressed great concerns about the reports on missing persons. The use of force is not the answer to the political situation in Ukraine.

He urged President Yanukovych to start immediately a dialogue at the highest level with the opposition. This is the President's role as Ukraine's Head of State.

President Barroso recalled that, if the situation in Ukraine is not stabilised, the EU would assess possible consequences for bilateral relations.

In addition, he highlighted the EU's readiness to assist in the political dialogue and in the de-escalation of the situation. To this end, Commissioner Füle will travel to Kiev tomorrow, and HRVP Ashton may travel to Kiev next week.

In response, President Yanukovych made the following commitments:

President Yanukovych stated that he was committed to the high level dialogue requested by President Barroso.

He confirmed to President Barroso that there would not be at this moment a declaration of a state of emergency.

President Yanukovych also agreed to meet HRVP Ashton and Commissioner Füle in Ukraine.