Europarliament: Russia not a partner

STARSBOURG, France – On June 10 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on European Union-Russia relations, which stated, “Whereas Russia has – by illegally annexing Crimea, an action which was strongly condemned by the EU and which will not be recognized, and waging an armed conflict against Ukraine, with the direct and indirect participation of military and security services, and by deliberately destabilizing this neighboring sovereign and independent country – profoundly damaged its relationship with the EU by jeopardizing the basic principles of Europe’s security by not respecting borders and by breaking its international commitments, notably the United Nations Charter, the Helsinki Final Act, the Budapest Memorandum, the 1990 Paris Charter for a New Europe and the bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership; whereas the humanitarian situation in Crimea and in eastern Ukraine has considerably deteriorated, with a death toll of several thousand… In this context, the EU cannot envisage a return to ‘business as usual’ and has no choice but to conduct a critical re-assessment of its relations with Russia, which includes the drafting, as promptly as possible, of a soft-power contingency plan to counter the aggressive and divisive policies conducted by Russia, and a comprehensive plan on its future relations with that country and with its Eastern European partners; underlines that the resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine can only be political in nature; stresses that at this point Russia, because of its actions in Crimea and in eastern Ukraine, can no longer be treated as, or considered, a ‘strategic partner.’ ” (Ukrainian Canadian Congress)