EU High Representative and President of the Foreign Affairs Council Catherine Ashton and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos, in his capacity as President of the EU General Affairs Council, had extensive telephone talks today on the developments in Ukraine.

 

Baroness Ashton briefed Venizelos on the picture she formed during her visit to Kiev. She also briefed him on the preparations being made by the European Commission, in collaboration with the European External Action service, the European Investment Bank and other European institutions to shape a format for immediate financial support for Ukraine, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the Russian Federation.

 

Venizelos briefed Baroness Ashton on the proposal he put forward in Budapest regarding the need to hold an international meeting immediately for the financial support of Ukraine. The number-one issue, of course, is the formation and functioning of a consensus-based government capable of expressing all of the political, social and regional forces of Ukraine, maintaining control of the situation and the unity of the country within a framework of democracy and rule of law.

 

Baroness Ashton and Venizelos discussed the programme of visits of EU member-state representatives to Ukraine, which is aimed at maintaining unabated European Union interest in Ukraine. In this context, the Foreign Ministers mainly of states bordering on Ukraine (Slovakia, Hungary, etc.) will be traveling to Kiev in the coming days.

 

Baroness Ashton invited Venizelos, as the representative of the rotating Presidency, to organize a visit in a few days, as soon as a comprehensive proposal has been shaped on both the political and financial situation in Ukraine.

 

Finally, Baroness Ashton and Venizelos agreed to stay in ongoing contact on this particular issue.