EU’s Russian funds should go to Ukraine — Eliseyev

Ukraine's representative to the EU, Ambassador Konstantyn Eliseyev, is proposing that investments frozen out of Russia as a result of sanctions be transferred to Ukraine, reports UNIAN, July 31. "This would be a logical step both from the political and the economic points of view. It also would be fair, considering the scope and nature of Russia's crime against Ukraine. These funds, for example, could finance a special EU program to restore the Donbas," he explained. Commenting on the decision to approve sanctions against Russia, the Ukrainian diplomat said that decision "was a turning point in EU's perception of Russia's provocative and unacceptable conduct towards Ukraine." "This move also served as an important political signal -- that force and aggression are not acceptable in international relations in the twenty-first century. This decision gives us confidence that the European Union will continue to take decisive steps if Russia does not stop and continues to destabilize the situation in the east of Ukraine. Today we have seen clearly that economic interests must not take precedence over our shared values," Eliseyev said. Commenting on the fact that sanctions in the area of military-technical cooperation will not affect existing contracts, including France's sale to Russia of the Mistral helicopter carrier warships, he emphasized that this contract violates the rules of the EU and in principle cannot be considered in the context of economic sanctions alone. "This type of contract must be reviewed on the basis of the requirements of the legislation of the European Union,"  he concluded. As previously reported, in March 2014, Russia, breaking all international agreements, annexed Crimea and continues to destabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine, where it sends armed terrorists. Additionally, the Russian government is providing military, logistic, economic and financial support to the terrorist organizations, the "people's republics" in Donetsk and Luhansk. On July 16, the situation in Ukraine was examined at a meeting of the European Council As a result, the European Council asked the European Investment Bank (EIB) to suspend the financing of new public sector projects in the Russian Federation. "The Member States of the European Union will coordinate their positions with the Board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)," the EU Council statement said. The European Council also invites the European Commission to "reevaluate the program as part of EU-Russia cooperation in order to decide, in each case, to suspend the implementation of programs on bilateral and regional cooperation," the statement concluded. Russia is the largest recipient of project financing from the EBRD -- EUR 1.8bn in 2013, while all EBRD investments around the world total EUR 9bn a year. EIB loans to Russia in 2013 amounted to US $1.4bn. ______________________________ Translated by Anna Mostovych Source: UNIAN