Igor Ivanov, his western colleagues support Contact Group for Ukraine idea
MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - Ukraine's circumstances today present a grave danger and create a necessity for joint action, including the establishment of a contact group involving Russia, the United States and leading European nations, former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and some of his Western colleagues said in statement.
"In the interests of overcoming the crisis in Ukraine, we support efforts by governments to form a Contact Group comprised of foreign ministers from Russia, the United States, and key European countries," runs the joint statement of Ivanov, former British defense secretary Des Browne, former German deputy foreign minister Wolfgang Ischinger, former U.S. senator Sam Nunn and former Polish foreign minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld. Interfax has obtained a Russian-language copy of the statement.
"This Contact Group should work to reduce tensions and prepare a detailed program of action to resolve the present crisis," the statement says.
"That program could include the employment of international monitors in Ukraine, support for free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections, and programs and means to protect the rights and ensure the safety of all people living in Ukraine," it notes.
"Ukraine's circumstances today present a grave danger and create a necessity for joint action. Ukraine must not become a new Berlin Wall in Europe. Dividing Ukraine would mean dividing Europe again. The crisis should be a lesson for us all," the statement runs.
This is "a call to unite our efforts to assist Ukrainians in reaching a lasting accommodation among themselves, and to lay the foundation for a new comprehensive Euro-Atlantic security community," it said.
"Any long-term settlement of the present Ukrainian crisis should include respect for Ukrainian independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as respect for the rights and aspirations of all ethnic groups in Ukraine," the statement underscores.
"On the basis of these principles the Contact Group could also support plans for immediate political, economic, and social measures to assist Ukraine's recovery from its present economic and political crisis. The implementation of these plans could also be closely monitored by the Contact Group," the veteran diplomats said.
"In addition to the Contact Group, assistance from other international and regional institutions would be welcome, including in particular the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe," they stressed.