1. The EU and its Member States resolutely condemn Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a manifest violation of the UN Charter, as well as the OSCE’s core principles and commitments, including those stemming from the Code of Conduct on Politico Military Aspects of Security.
2. Mr Chair, earlier today you organised a Security Dialogue dedicated to the Code of Conduct. We reiterate that with the Code being a politically binding document, its effectiveness relies on proactive participation by all participating States in addressing both interstate security and the democratic control of forces. As such, our discussions today on this matter could not have been much timelier especially in the context of Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine.
3. Last week, on the very day we met in this room and underlined the importance of long-term ceasefire and peace efforts, reports started to emerge of a massive Russian drone strike focusing on Western Ukraine, striking as far west as Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region. Further reports followed the next day, on Thursday, of Russia continuing its attacks and Kyiv being the main target of what was labelled as one of Russia’s longest and most relentless drone attacks against Ukraine. At least 27 civilians including three children were killed in these attacks and dozens were wounded as Russia targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure. Overall, over the course of the two days Russia launched around 1,500 drones while also attacking Ukraine with missiles. Attacks like these continue to show why we need common rules, why those rules need to be complied with and why accountability remains essential.
4. Last month, on the occasion of the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, High Representative Kaja Kallas underlined that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as other conflicts, marked a direct assault on the principles of the UN Charter, with civilians being targeted, infrastructure being destroyed, and international humanitarian law violated with near-total impunity. She also highlighted that each breach left unanswered risked weakening the system further.
5. Without accountability there can be no durable peace. We underline our strong support for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law and we reaffirm our strong commitment to ensuring full accountability for war crimes and the other most serious crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
6. We also strongly condemn the repeated breaches of the airspace of our Member States, and those neighbouring Ukraine, most recently of Romania and of the Republic of Moldova, as a consequence of the brutal Russian attacks against Ukraine´s civilian infrastructure at the ports on the Danube. We urge Russia to refrain from further violations of the sovereign airspace of the European Union’s Member States as well as other countries and express our full solidarity with the affected countries.
7. The EU and its Member States will continue to provide multi-faceted support, including political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine. The first disbursement of our EUR 90 billion loan will start in June. It will help Ukraine to continue with its rightful self-defence against the aggression of the Russian Federation, including with drones, to be able to withstand attacks like those reported last week. While Russia, as an OSCE participating State, is bound by all the norms and principles of this Organisation, its ongoing actions demonstrate a systematic failure to comply with them. That is why Russia feels isolated and why Russia in fact is almost completely isolated in the OSCE and this Forum.
8. We call on Russia to stop its aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.
9. The EU and its Member States urge all countries to immediately cease any assistance to Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine, whether direct or indirect, and notably through the provision of dual-use goods and components. In particular, we strongly condemn the deployment of the DPRK’s military forces in the war against Ukraine as well as the continued military support provided by Iran, Belarus and the DPRK, among others.
Thank you.
Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic
of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway and Ukraine align themselves
with this statement.