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EU Foreign Ministers Downbeat on Ukraine Deal Prospects

EU Foreign Ministers Downbeat on Ukraine Deal Prospects
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Δευ, 16 Δεκεμβρίου 2013 - 16:58
European foreign ministers were downbeat Monday about the prospects of signing an agreement with Ukraine anytime soon, and some warned that its unraveling could tarnish relations with Russia.
European foreign ministers were downbeat Monday about the prospects of signing an agreement with Ukraine anytime soon, and some warned that its unraveling could tarnish relations with Russia .

Asked about the chances of signing a Ukraine deal in coming months, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said, "Obviously the prospects of that have gone back a long way with what has happened in the Ukraine in the last few weeks."

"The EU door remains open to Ukraine, but clearly they are not willing to or able to walk through it," Mr. Hague said. "The prospects of this have taken a major knock."

The gloom was pervasive as EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels for their last conclave of the year, after weeks of protests in Kiev against the Ukrainian government's rejection at a summit in Vilnius of a sweeping trade and political deal with the EU.

Carl Bildt, Sweden 's foreign minister, criticized Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych for what he called "doubletalk" on whether he still intends to sign the EU agreement, which would align Ukraine more closely with Europe and steer it away from Russia 's orbit.

"Sometimes he says, as he said in Vilnius , that he wants to sign 'in the near future.'" Mr. Bildt said. "Then he said he was going to fire those who negotiated the agreement. If you can make sense out of that as to his policy, welcome. I fail."

Signs of division emerged within the EU as well on how to proceed with Ukraine not committing to the deal. Ukraine 's move followed economic threats from Russia and amounted to one of the bloc's biggest foreign policy setbacks of recent years.

Stefan Fuele, the EU's commissioner for enlargement, tweeted Sunday that the bloc was suspending talks on a deal with Ukraine , because they were not engaging seriously in negotiations.

But Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said tartly Monday, "I think making policy on the basis of a Twitter notice by Mr. Fuele is perhaps not the best way of approaching this issue."

His Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn also said that showing Ukraine a "cold shoulder" now would not be a constructive approach.

"I think at this moment, we must do two things...Listen to the Ukrainian people and not close the door," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in Brussels to meet his European counterparts later Monday, even as many publicly blamed Russia for threatening harsh economic reprisals against Ukraine .

Overall, European leaders are debating how to handle their relations with Russia in coming months and years, prompted not only by the Ukraine debacle, but also disputes over other international hotspots like Syria.

Mr. Timmermans said, "My message is let Ukraine decide about its own future by itself and not go into this game of trying to create spheres of influence."

Mr. Hague said the way the Ukraine deal has unfolded has created a "strain" on EU-Russia relations. Mr. Bildt accused Moscow of launching "an extensive propaganda campaign of misinformation and sometimes outright lies," about the aborted EU-Ukraine agreement.

He questioned whether the bloc could still consider Russia a strategic partner. "I think we have been somewhat too liberal in handing out that designation," Mr. Bildt said.

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