(AFP Photo)
AFP- Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk will meet EU leaders Thursday ahead of an emergency summit the same day on the crisis in his country, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said.
EU leaders “will discuss situation in Ukraine with PM Yatsenyuk in Brussels Thursday prior to extraordinary summit,” Van Rompuy said in a Tweeted message Tuesday.
EU foreign ministers on Monday condemned Russia’s “acts of aggression” in theUkraine and warned that ties were at risk unless Moscow reversed course and took steps to de-escalate the crisis by Thursday’s summit.
“In the absence of de-escalating steps by Russia, the EU shall decide about consequences for bilateral relations between the EU and Russia,” the foreign ministers said in a statement after their emergency meeting.
The EU was also ready to “consider further targeted measures” against Russia, it said.
The crisis, seen as the worst in Europe since the Cold War, has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity in response to Russia’s move into the Crimean peninsular, a largely Russian-speaking area and home to its Black Sea fleet.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Madrid Tuesday and then go on to Kiev on Wednesday.
