Konstantin Yeliseev: Political peace and stability in Europe are more important than question of GDP

Europe should understand that peace and political stability on the continent are more important than economic interests of individual countries of the EU, said KonstantinYeliseev, Representative of Ukraine to the EU, during the 8th Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.

“The EU is now observing certain attempts to resume the dialogue with Russia. Some EU countries are concerned about their economic and business interests. In this context, we can say that every European nation should be aware that economic values cannot prevail over democratic values. In other words, the issues of political peace and stability on the continent and restraining the aggressor are more important than questions of GDP,” – said the representative of Ukraine.

At the same time K. Yeliseev noted that the EU has realized the need to reform the entity. In particular, currently common security and defense policy of the EU are under review in the context of an existing hybrid war and preventive measures. It is about the revision of the neighborhood policy, the development of new long-term strategy of relations with Russia. According to the diplomat, Ukraine would like to see “two red lines” in the EU-Russia cooperation strategies. “The first red line – all independent countries have the sovereign right to make their own choice. The second red line – we can return to the normal business with Russia only in case of full restoration of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” – he explained.

In addition, the representative of Ukraine to the EU called cooperation between Kyiv and Brussels to deter the aggressor through the introduction of sanctions against Moscow successful. “151 person is under a visa ban, 37 legal entities had their property arrested,” – he recalled. “We have a partial solution for the gas issue. We have the winter package. And we are close to the completion of negotiations on the summer package,” – said Mr. Yeliseev. 

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The annual international event ‘Kyiv Security Forum’, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007 is a platform for discussion of the most pressing issues concerning the security in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum is aimed at promoting security cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea Region, raising awareness of the development of security among key players and strengthening the role of independent and non-governmental actors in solving security problems in Europe.