Ukrainian Foreign Minister: EU will increase pressure on Russia next year
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview with Voice of America to expect an increase in international pressure on Russia in the form of expanded sanctions and increased security assistance to Ukraine next year.
"The EU is beginning to understand that other steps are needed, because Russia is waging war not only against Ukraine, but against the institutions of the European Union. Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany are increasingly saying that such a situation is unacceptable. Next year, we anticipate increased pressure on Russia," Klimkin stressed.
He also welcomed Canada’s recent decision to permit Ukraine access to buy Canadian weapons.
"The sanctions that the US will apply next year should be very effective," the minister added.
Klimkin, however, does not place high hopes on increasing the effectiveness of the Minsk format: "It's not a matter of the format," he says, "we are constantly working with Germany and France. We are constantly working with the United States, and though we may move something onto the table, the essence does not change. And the point is that Russia wants to leave its protectorate in the Donbas in some form; and unless it refuses, there will be no progress."
The minister stressed that a UN peacekeeping mission is necessary for the situation that has developed in the Donbas.
"Ukraine and its international partners have a common opinion that there is a necessary mandate for a peacekeeping mission; but Russia is trying to change tactics and jump out of all formats in order to create the impression that everything that is happening in Ukraine is internal conflict," Klimkin said.