Brussels, 09/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - At the very moment that pro-Russian militants are attempting to destabilise eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador to the EU, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, called on Tuesday 8 April on the EU to impose further sanctions against Russia. In an interview with EUROPE, the ambassador also discussed the forthcoming presidential elections and EU support for his country in this period that he describes as “the most important in the history of the Ukraine” (interview by CG)

Agence Europe - Pro-Russian militants have seized control of government buildings in eastern Ukraine and have proclaimed an independent republic in the Donetsk region. Are you afraid of a similar scenario to that which occurred in the Crimea?

Kostiantyn Yelisieiev - No, because there are a lot of differences with the Crimea. The international community is very well organised, prepared and on the alert. In the east of Ukraine there are no Russian military bases: in the Crimea, Russia used military and naval bases as a base for carrying out aggressive action. After the Crimea, Russian action provocated to consolidate patriotism and there is more and more happening in Ukraine, particularly in the east, to protect territorial integrity and counter the brutal action taken by Russia. This is why I do not think that a Crimean scenario is going to be repeated in eastern Ukraine.

What is the Ukrainian government doing and what should the EU and international community do?

It is up to us, Ukrainians, to do everything we can to stabilise the situation, particularly with regard to the eastern part of the country. At the same time, we expect the EU to continue to provide substantial support. The most important factor for preserving peace and stabilising the situation is that it provides financial, economic and technical assistance (…). The EU must give the go-ahead for the third phase of sanctions because, if we look at the events in eastern Ukraine, it is obvious that Russia is not stopping, that this escalation is continuing and there are confrontations with pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. The EU mustn't stop. Decisive action is required.

Does this decisive action consist of phase 3 sanctions?

Yes. Certain quarters say that, if calm is not restored, the third phase of sanctions will be introduced but has the current situation calmed down? No, not at all. We should not accept the situation in the Crimea as a fait accompli. We need to continue and we need to move. In my opinion, the go-ahead for everyone, particularly the EU, should be the recent resolution from the UN General Assembly. I think that the heaviest sanction the EU could impose on Russia would be to show100%, not 99%, solidarity with Ukraine in a coordinated way… There are countries in the EU that are prevaricating and this hesitation is helping Russia, the aggressor. This is also a test for the EU's values. Some member states are concerned that they will suffer if they introduce sanctions. Yes, for peace suffering is necessary, there is no price on peace! It is also the responsibility of European leaders to inform EU citizens why they are taking such measures with regard to Russia.

Do you think that the EU's reaction to the annexation of the Crimea was too weak?

It is not up to me to judge whether it is sufficient or not. What the EU has done in terms of sanctions is bearing fruit but we can't stop mid-way, we need to go further. I would like very much that, at the forthcoming Councils, member states continue to consider and adopt restrictive measures to demonstrate to Russia that ignorance and brutal action are in violation of international law and are not acceptable in the here and now.

On Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed organising a meeting in ten days' time between the US, Russia, the EU and Ukraine in an effort to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. What you think about this?

I have not had any detailed information. Ukraine is prepared to enter into dialogue with the Russian Federation. On Monday, the Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Dechtchitsa, telephoned his Russian counterpart. If I understand correctly, they also agreed on the format of the next meeting being bilateral. Ukraine supports diplomatic and peaceful action and would like to use the arm of diplomacy to resolve this crisis provoked by illegal and brutal action taken by Russia.

Is the OSCE mission currently in eastern Ukraine?

We are very happy that, finally, after many discussions, the decision was taken to send an OSCE monitoring mission and we support the deployment of an EU monitoring mission to support the OSCE mission. We consider that this EU operation will be the guarantee that Russia will not block efforts by the international community to bring calm and that it will be used to obtain the truth about what is happening in the east of Ukraine. We are having to face Russian aggression on three fronts: military aggression, aggression in terms of information and aggression in the energy field. In this context, everyone, including the EU, must be on their guard and proactive and creative in the way these challenges are met.

What can the EU do to help in the energy field?

The EU can do a lot. We are in a decisive phase when it comes to resolving the question relating to return flows of gas from EU countries (Slovakia, Hungary and Poland). The EU must do everything within its power to halt the development of the Southstream project because it is obvious that this project contravenes EU legislation. We will be discussing the issue of modernising the gas transmission system. We are ready to talk about problems relating to the setting up on Ukrainian territory of the gas network centre that will include the gas transmission system, underground gas reservoirs, the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and shale gas. We also expect the EU to support us when we go to the International Court against Russia, which has taken over gas, oil and energy assets in the Crimea… There has been a very active dialogue between Prime Minister Arseni Yatseniuk and President José Manuel Barroso about the EU helping guarantee Ukraine's energy security if Russia cuts off gas supplies. We are working together to resolve the problem of the EU and Ukraine's energy security and ensuring the transit of gas throughout its territory no matter what, because this is our responsibility.

The EU is promoting free, fair and transparent elections. In the current conditions, are such elections realistic on 25 May in the presidential election?

Ukraine is determined to conduct transparent and democratic elections and we are working with the international community to this end. The OSCE mission will be monitoring elections in the short and long term. We have also invited the European delegation. Given that the Crimea is currently annexed, we are developing an information campaign to allow Ukrainian citizens living in the Crimea to have the choice of voting in the elections in the southern Ukrainian area bordering the Crimea.

Are you afraid of incidents occurring in the east?

Of course, there are two challenges. The first is that before the elections, Russia does all that it can to prevent democratic elections. We are expecting it to provoke instability and hostility in these regions. The second is that it is necessary to preserve and defend the outcome because after the elections certain aggressive forces will do everything they can to discredit them. Nonetheless, it is necessary that these elections take place because we need a head of state that can work 100% to ensuring political and financial stability in Ukraine. After the elections, we will continue with constitutional changes. We will do everything possible to reform local government, decentralise power, give more power to local councils and more initiative to the regions, with a view to economic and financial development.

Will this also involve stepping up the fight against corruption?

Corruption is one of the biggest challenges facing us in our domestic political situation. Over the next few days, parliament will adopt legislation needed to create the legislative basis for fighting this cancer. We will be setting up a national anti-corruption office. All this action will be coordinated with the Council of Europe and the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO), assisted by the EU.

Returning to the subject of the association agreement, what does the signing of the political chapters of this agreement represent?

The signature was a gesture of political solidarity by the EU, which decided in the shortest possible time frame to prepare and sign the political part of the agreement, even before the presidential elections took place. By signing, the EU took political responsibility for the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine (…). In these chapters, there is also co-operation on peacekeeping, regional stability and military and technical cooperation. We expect the whole of the agreement to be signed just after the presidential elections in Ukraine (…). We believe that the most important thing is to sign it as soon as possible, that the agreement is ratified by the Ukrainian parliament and we begin to implement this treaty. Even before the signing of the chapters on the free-trade zone, the EU will begin to provide preferences to Ukraine. This is a very important gesture and a gesture of EU solidarity.

From your perspective, when do you think the trade chapter could be implemented?

As soon as we sign it, we will present the document for ratification and I believe that parliament will vote on it very quickly. Procedures allow us to temporarily implement most of the parts relating to the free-trade zone.