The EU and US leaders have called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to seize “a moment of opportunity” to end the Ukrainian crisis. American President Barack Obama commented after a Russia-free G7 meeting in Brussels on last week that if President Putin recognizes Ukraine’s new Prime Minister, Petro Poroshenko, and ensures that the fighting in the Crimean peninsula stops, then it is “possible for G7 to begin to rebuild trust”. Yet, he also added that G7 cannot afford another three, four or six months of violence and conflict in Ukraine. As he said “we will have to see what Mr Putin does over the next three or four weeks, and if Russia continues on its current course, then we’ve already indicated the kind of measures (economic sanctions) we’re prepared to take”.
British PM agreed saying that “there’s a moment of opportunity for diplomacy to play a role here … for Ukraine and Russia to have a proper relationship”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Putin’s decision to return his ambassador to Kiev in time for Mr Poroshenko’s inauguration ceremony that took place on Saturday (June 7). Yet, Brussels has not yet snatched the opportunity to sign a free trade agreement with Kiev. While the EU appears ready to make this long-awaited step, EU Member States delayed their decision until next week with a view to sign it at the end of this month. Analysts have warned that it would be a huge blow to the reputation of EU28 if it at this stage opted not to sign the treaty.
