Normally the statements of diplomats can be discounted, but Sikorski's answers are refreshingly blunt and to the point. I can't quote them all, but there are many key summaries here of the EU position.
Talking with Poland’s foreign minister about the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s next moves
By Lally Weymouth, Published: April 18
Lally Weymouth is a senior associate editor of The Washington Post.
...
How would you explain why Ukraine matters to Westerners?
It matters because for the first time since the Second World War, one European country has annexed a province from another European country. And that matters because it is a rejection of our entire legal system and international norms and treaties that we have regarded as the foundation of peace.
Remember, there is not a country in Europe that does not have national minorities. If we went back to protecting them through changing borders, we would be back in the hell of the 20th century and before. This is why what President Putin has done in Crimea and is now doing in eastern Ukraine is so threatening to all of us.
...
Somebody told me that you heard Putin talking out loud about dividing Ukraine awhile ago. Is that true?
Oh yes, President Putin made a speech at the Bucharest NATO Summit in 2008, at which he spoke about Ukraine as an artificial country put together from bits of other countries.
And yes, we have received a letter from the deputy speaker of the Russian Duma, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, proposing that Poland take five provinces of Ukraine. He sent similar letters to Hungary and Romania, also making territorial proposals to them.
When?
It was a month ago. We told him we were not doing it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/talking-with-polands-foreign-minister-about-the-ukraine-crisis-and-russias-next-moves/2014/04/17/f1811e84-c5ad-11e3-bf7a-be01a9b69cf1_story.html
As Merkel said, "lost the plot."
= new reply since forum marked as read