Merkel: the West imposes sanctions against Russia to uphold international law

Photo: EPA

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman in Berlin on November 29 that he would raise the issue of the Azov sea at the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Argentina, according to Reuters.

According to Merkel, the West imposes sanctions against Russia to uphold international law. Merkel noted that certain countries, despite the fact that they are geographically close to Russia, “have the right to their own development.”

Diplomatic sources at the Agency said that EU officials are calling for tougher sanctions against Russia over the conflict with Ukraine around the sea of Azov and the incident in the Kerch Strait with the capture of a Ukrainian ship. Thus, according to interlocutors, the EU “not to act quickly, if at all.”

As the “Interfax-Ukraine”, Groisman said that “this topic is seriously discussed at the G20 summit”.

According to him, the first question on the meeting with Merkel, was “the situation in the Azov sea,” in the context of “a blatant aggression by Russia”. “It was about the fact that we need to take measures for the release of our prisoners”, – said the Prime Minister.

“We have discussed the situation in Azov, and I want to say that the Chancellor very well knows the situation and all aspects of what happened there, and what are the problems created by there today Russia, including the illegal construction of this bridge, the obstruction of free navigation and so on,” – said Groisman.

The Prime Minister added that “this cannot remain without an adequate reaction of the world to these outrages”.

On 25 November Russian fired and captured in the Black sea boats of the Ukrainian Navy “Berdyansk” and “Nikopol” and the tug “Kapu Yana” who were going to pass through the Kerch Strait in the Azov sea. Of the 24 captured Ukrainians and three others injured.

FSB opened a criminal case against the Ukrainian military, a criminal case under part 3 of article 322 (illegal crossing of the state border) of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation. The 27th and 28th of November “courts” in Kerch and in Simferopol took the decision to detain all Ukrainian sailors.

The military Prosecutor of the southern region of Ukraine reported on suspicion of eight soldiers of the Russian Federation involved in the capture of the Ukrainian ship, they impute article of the Criminal code, “the planning, preparation, initiation and waging aggressive war” and “attempted murder”.

The United States condemned Russia’s actions, calling them a manifestation of aggression, the European Union expressed concern about the use of force by Russia. Statements demanding the release of Ukrainian sailors were also published, NATO and the OSCE.

In connection with the aggravation of the situation near the Kerch Strait on November 26, the Verkhovna Rada supported the decree of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on the introduction of martial law in 10 areas in 30 days. Poroshenko signed a law on November 28.

November 28, Putin said that the conflict in the Black sea was a provocation of the Ukrainian authorities aimed at the complication of the electoral process in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called that statement untrue. According to the Ukrainian leader, Putin staged a provocation in the Black sea, to prevent getting the Tomos of autocephaly for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.