The Ukrainian authorities will miss the chance to sign an association agreement with the EU if the policy of force wins during the settlement of the crisis in the country, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius has said.
“If rational thinking wins, if there is a desire to speak openly with
the public and if there is the president’s initiative to talk with
former presidents, a roundtable, on how to solve the problem, then it
will be possible to expect more constructive results. But if the policy
of force wins, then, of course, they will not only miss the chance to
talk about the signing of the Association Agreement, which is stated as a
goal, but will also burn the last bridges of trust,” he told Lithuanian
Radio on Tuesday.
Linkevicius, who is currently in Brussels, said that EU High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton
comes to Kyiv on Tuesday.
“She hopes to meet with the authorities, representatives of the
opposition and foreign organizations, and she hopes, perhaps, to make
the most important message that violence is unacceptable. If the
Ukrainian authorities still want to continue the dialogue, they must
demonstrate certain signs,” he said.
