EU Receives Assurances From Kiev on Martial Law's Temporary Nature - Mogherini
Ukraine has assured the European Union that the martial law imposed after the Kerch Strait incident will expire soon without affecting the upcoming elections, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the fifth EU-Ukraine Association Council was held in Brussels.
"When it comes to the martial law, we had a chance to discuss it mainly with the President [Petro Poroshenko] on Wednesday, we touched upon this briefly with the Prime Minister [Volodymyr Groysman] today. The message is to handle this with care, avoid the consequences for the regions of Ukraine ... We have received the guarantees on the fact that the temporary effect is going to expire soon and that the work will continue to retake place as soon as possible in the coming weeks without affecting, in particular, the electoral process," Mogherini said at a press conference following the council meeting.
The EU foreign policy chief pointed out that she had also discussed the issue of municipal elections in Ukraine with Ukrainian Prime Minister Groysman adding that the voting should be held despite the martial law.
The martial law was introduced in Ukraine after the November 25 incident in the Sea of Azov, when three ships of the Ukrainian Navy � Berdyansk, Nikopol, and Yany Kapu � breached the Russian border, entered Russian territorial waters that were temporarily closed, and began moving toward the Kerch Strait, which serves as the entrance into the Sea of Azov. The Ukrainian vessels and their crew were detained by Russia after failing to respond to a lawful demand to stop.
Commenting on the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to introduce martial law. Putin said the provocation could be linked to Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the presidential campaign set to start in late December.