Head of European Council excludes EU military intervention to resolve Ukrainian crisis

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy ruled out EU military intervention to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. In his view, the EU should "use other tools" to help resolve the crisis in Ukraine. "We must help the country economically and politically in the creation of new institutions (authorities)," quoted the head of the European Council newspaper Soir.

He believes that Ukraine has become a "victim of a campaign to destabilize undertaken by external elements."

"New Life" of Geneva agreements

Hague emphasized that "all parties must fulfill their obligations."British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that the Geneva agreement on Ukraine should get a new life. This he told reporters on arrival at the Ministerial Session of the Council of Europe. "If there is an opportunity to breathe new life into the agreements reached in Geneva three weeks ago, we should try to do this, "he said.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza  that the refusal of dialogue with Russia would be a big mistake. Worsened situation in eastern Ukraine and bloody clashes in Odessa show that only a few steps set off from an open military confrontation, he warned.

"The conflict over Ukraine takes very acute form, which has seemed impossible in Europe. Threat of a new division of Europe is still real," the minister said. Europe should seek all possible ways to avoid open civil war in Ukraine, he added.

In his opinion, it is necessary to ensure that the United States, Russia, the EU and Ukraine "sit down at the negotiating table".

He believes a mistake four-party talks on Ukraine, held in Geneva in April ,  was a lack of agreement on the mechanisms of implementation of the decisions.