EU Concerned Russia May Use Passports To Ukrainians To Instigate War
The European Union says they are 'deeply concerned' about the fact that Russia is issuing passports to Ukraine citizens, an act which contradicts the 'spirit' of the Minsk Agreements and encroaches upon the sovereignty of the Ukraine.
Russia has issued over 500,000 passports to people in Eastern Ukraine in the last two years, and continues to do so in defiance of agreements made in the past to keep the peace.
A statement given by the European Union admonished the actions saying, "We are deeply concerned about the fact that Russia continues and has recently even accelerated its policy of mass issuance of passports to Ukrainian citizens in non-government-controlled areas of Ukraine. This policy contradicts the spirit and the objectives of the Minsk Agreements and is a clear violation of Ukraine's sovereignty".
The EU also stated that it, and its members states does not recognize the passports as legitimate saying, "The European Union and its member states recall that they do not recognize these passports and call on other OSCE participating States to do so".
On the 20th of March, Putin put out a presidential decree banning non citizens from owning land in almost of all of Crimea.
The European Union put out a statement then condemning that action saying, "The European Union does not recognize the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, which is a clear violation of international law. Therefore the European Union does not recognize this decree and considers its entry into force as yet another attempt to forcibly integrate the illegally annexed peninsula into Russia".