The Council considers illegitimate and illegal any referendum on Ukraine's unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Dialogue between the authorities in Kiev and all parties needs to take place to allow the holding of free and fair Ukrainian Presidential elections on 25 May throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. The Council took note of the recent declarations from the President of the Russian Federation and expects support for the holding of these elections.
EU ministers confirmed the EU commitment to the Geneva Joint Statement of 17 April on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens, and called on all parties involved to fully implement it.
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Mr. Didier Burkhalter, attended the meeting and held an exchange of views with ministers on the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and his visit to Moscow. EU ministers welcomed and encouraged the work of the OSCE mission, on implementing the Geneva Joint Statement and establishing round tables to develop a national dialogue.
Ukrainian authorities need to reach out to all regions on a constitutional reform process.
In order to assist Ukraine in the field of civilian security sector reform, including police and rule of law, the Council tasked the European External Action Service to work on elements for a possible civilian CSDP mission.
The Council also agreed on a new set of sanctions and took note of the preparatory work done by the Commission and Member States on possible targeted measures, as requested by the European Council in March. The EU will pay particular attention to the attitude and behaviour towards the holding of free and fair Presidential elections when deciding about their implementation.
