Europe rebuffs Ukrainian calls for action in Russia standoff

European leaders rebuff calls from Ukraine for greater support against Russia after Kiev urges NATO to send ships into waters disputed with Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel asks Kiev to be “sensible” following the request from President Petro Poroshenko, just hours after the European Union fails to agree to threaten new sanctions against Moscow.

Kiev has called on Western allies to back expressions of support with concrete action after Russian forces on Sunday seized three Ukrainian ships off the coast of Crimea.

The incident was the most dangerous in years between the ex-Soviet neighbors — who are locked in conflict over Russian-backed separatist regions — and has raised fears of a wider escalation.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper published Thursday, Poroshenko asks NATO members including Berlin to send naval vessels to the Sea of Azov to back his country.

“Germany is one of our closest allies, and we hope that states within NATO are now ready to relocate naval ships to the Sea of Azov in order to assist Ukraine and provide security,” he says.

But, while blaming Russia for tensions, Merkel shows no signs of being ready to back military support.

“We ask the Ukrainian side too to be sensible because we know that we can only solve things through being reasonable and through dialogue because there is no military solution to these disputes,” she says.

— AFP