President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, and President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, have issued a statement on the referendum in Crimea.
In the statement the European diplomats said that the European Union won’t recognize Crimea’s annexation by Russia.
“The sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine
must be respected. The European Union does neither recognize the illegal
and illegitimate referendum in Crimea nor its outcome. The European
Union does not and will not recognize the annexation of Crimea and
Sevastopol to the Russian Federation,” reads the document shared by
Brussels on Tuesday.
In line with the declaration of the Heads of State and Government of
the EU dated 6 March and mentioned-above statement on Crimea dated 16
March, the European Council will discuss the situation in Ukraine at its
meeting this week and agree on a united European response, Barroso and
Rompuy said.
