Recent developments in Ukraine and the downed Malaysian civilian aircraft resonated at the Tuesday Council of EU foreign ministers session in Brussels, said Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák.
The ministers declared that the case of downed MH17 flight represents a tragic peak in developments seen in eastern Ukraine over the course of the past months, during which a number of Ukrainian aircraft were shot down. Furthermore, the ministers called upon Russia not to allow the Russo-Ukrainian border to be used for the supplies of weapons and ammunition as well as arrival of militants. "If these conditions and expectations, as defined by EU leaders, are not met, the EU is ready to embrace further sanctions," said Lajčák. According to his words, however, Slovakia doesn't belong among countries that engage in an ill-advised shouting of "hurray, let's apply sanctions". Slovakia supports all measures to calm the situation in Ukraine, stop the civil war and prevent further civilian losses. Any potential sanctions, however, need to be assessed also in terms of their negative impact, stressed Lajčák.
