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President Ilves on Day of Mourning in Ukraine: the European Union must demonstrate convincingly what is important to us and the values for which we stand

20.02.2014

"While mourning and commemorating with the Ukrainian people the victims of February 18 and 19 in Kyiv, we are determined to halt the violence in Ukraine. The European Union must demonstrate convincingly what is important to us and the values for which we stand" said President Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

"The Ukrainian government, which bears primary responsibility for the situation in the country, and the opposition must find the strength and a sense of responsibility to start political dialogue that would prevent a recurrence of violence and further destruction. Otherwise, the next logical step for democratic countries will be imposition of personal sanctions, carefully targeted against those responsible for the violence. Estonia stands ready to support such measures," stressed the Estonian Head of State.

"The general atmosphere of distrust between the two sides in Ukraine can only push the country into a spiral of violence, economic chaos and hopelessness, drifting further away from Europe, to where Ukraine belongs," said President Ilves.

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