Russian annexations in Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky brushes aside Putin's demands
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, September 29, 2022, during a memorial ceremony on the outskirts of kyiv, where Nazi Germany soldiers killed some 30,000 Jews in 1941 during World War II.
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5 mins
Vladimir Putin formalized, this Friday, September 30, the annexation by Russia of the four regions occupied by Russia in eastern Ukraine, and called on Kiev to "
immediately cease hostilities
" and to negotiate.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, sent him in response an end of inadmissibility.
The main reactions of the day.
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Annexation or not, while Russia is now asking him to lay down his arms, Mr. Zelensky persists this Friday: he will not negotiate with Moscow.
Or at least not as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power.
“
Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation.
We will negotiate with the new president
,” he said in a video uploaded by Kiev.
On the contrary, the Ukrainian president intends to accelerate.
“
We are taking a decisive step by signing Ukraine's candidacy for accelerated NATO membership
,” he explains.
This Friday, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister also spoke.
Dmytro Kouleba assures that his country will continue to lead the war effort to take back what belongs to it.
"
Nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue to liberate our lands and our people, restoring our territorial integrity
," he said on Twitter.
According to him, Vladimir Putin "
is trying to seize territories that he does not even physically control
".
By attempting to annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Putin tries to grab territories he doesn't even physically control on the ground.
Nothing changes for Ukraine: we continue liberating our land and our people, restoring our territorial integrity.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) September 30, 2022
A decision on the accession of Ukraine to the Atlantic Alliance will require the unanimity of the members of the politico-military organization, recalls, for his part, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.
However, he too condemns the annexations of Russia, a decision which he describes as "
illegal and illegitimate
", confirming that the Allies will never recognize these territories as part of the Russian Federation.
“
Ukraine has the right to take back these territories now occupied by force and we will support it so that it continues to liberate these territories
”, considers Mr. Stoltenberg, who spoke at a press conference.
►On France 24: For Dmytro Kuleba, the annexation of Ukrainian regions by Putin changes "nothing"
The “clear warning” from the United States
Washington's reaction was expected.
"
The United States today condemns Russia's fraudulent attempt to annex parts of territory in Ukraine
," Joe Biden said in a statement, denouncing a "
violation of international law that tramples on the United Nations Charter
".
The American president promises that the United States "
will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to regain control of its territory
".
The White House, the State Department and the Treasury announce the adoption of new sanctions this Friday, which mainly target Russian officials and the defense industry.
This includes parliamentarians from the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, government officials and suppliers to the Russian army.
And the head of American diplomacy to issue a warning: in agreement with the G7 countries, the Secretary of State assures that all those who provide political or economic support to Russia's attempts to "
illegally
seize of parts of Ukraine will be heavily sanctioned.
“
We also issue a clear warning backed by G7 leaders: we will hold to account any individual, entity or country that provides political or economic support to Russia's illegal attempts to change the status of territories in Ukraine
,” writes Antony. Blinken in his press release.
The G7 has engaged: its members “
will never recognize the alleged annexations
” of Ukrainian territories by Russia, promise the foreign ministers of the seven industrial powers, also in a press release.
“
We unanimously and strongly condemn Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and Russia's continued violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
»
►Read again: “We are going to form four new Russian regions”, announces Vladimir Putin
Russians at the borders: the EU is tightening the screws
The European Commission, for its part, invites the Member States of the EU, under the impulse of the latter, to be more restrictive in the granting of visas to Russians and in border controls, while thousands of they continue to flee the mobilization decreed by President Putin.
“
Having a valid visa will no longer suffice to enter the EU.
Border guards will have to carry out additional security checks
,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Friday at an online press conference from Stockholm.
I strongly condemn Russia's illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhya and Kherson.
This is a serious violation of international law and of Ukrainian sovereignty.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 30, 2022
Useful clarification: these new restrictions “
concern only short-term visas and border controls, not asylum.
The right to asylum is a fundamental right
,” recalls the Commissioner, who is Swedish.
As for the visas already issued, the Member States are “
invited
” to “ re-
examine
” them, and this “
due to the new security context
”, adds Ms Johansson.
The issuance and revocation of visas are, in fact, a competence of the Member States, as the Commissioner points out.
►Read also: Annexation of Ukrainian territories: "Putin organizes a political triumph" to "galvanize the Russians"
The reaction of the Council of Europe
The leaders of the Council of Europe, to which Russia no longer belongs since its exclusion last March, also "
firmly
" condemned "
the illegal annexation of the occupied territories in Ukraine
" by Moscow, in a joint statement by the President of the Council Committee of Ministers, Simon Coveney, the organisation's Secretary General, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Tiny Kox.
"
The forced change of international borders at the expense of another sovereign state, and the so-called 'referendums' that preceded it, constitute a serious violation of international law and cannot be recognised
," they all write jointly. .
And to add: “
As an occupying power, Russia continues to assume full responsibility for the respect of human rights in the territories concerned as well as in occupied Crimea.
»
In the eyes of Leendert Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, a body of the Council of Europe, "
President Putin's decision to illegally annex occupied territories in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia ( ...) seriously jeopardizes the legal order that has existed in Europe since 1945.
”
►Headline: Putin's dangerous headlong rush after the annexation of part of Ukraine
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Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky
Russia
Vladimir Poutine