In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the three presidents expressed their "strongest condemnation" of Russia's decision "to recognise the quasi-entities in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine – the so-called 'Luhansk People’s Republic' and 'Donetsk People’s Republic.'"
The statement said that "this unprovoked aggressive step by Russia constitutes yet another blatant violation of the fundamental norms and principles of international law, including the UN Charter, as well as security assurances given to Ukraine in the framework of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum."
The statement added that "Russia deliberately and unilaterally has withdrawn from the Minsk agreements and therefore bears full responsibility for further deterioration of the security situation on the ground."
Poland's Andrzej Duda, Lithuania's Gitanas Nausėda and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed their "strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters."
They said that Russia’s decision to recognise "the so-called 'LNR' and 'DPR' will have no legal implications."
'Robust package of sanctions'
The three presidents called on the international community "to take resolute and far-reaching steps in response to this yet another act of aggression committed by Russia against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
They said that this response should include "swift introduction" of a "robust package of sanctions" against Russia, including measures targeting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.
'We urge Russia to de-escalate'
"We urge Russia to de-escalate and to withdraw its armed forces deployed around Ukraine’s borders and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and to refrain from taking any further military actions," Duda, Nausėda and Zelensky also said in their joint statement.
The statement added that Poland and Lithuania stood by Ukraine and fully commended and supported its efforts to "solve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict by diplomatic and peaceful means."
'Ukraine deserves EU candidate status'
"Ukraine deserves our strongest support of its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, which goes in line with the free will and choice of the Ukrainian nation," the statement also said.
It added that Poland and Lithuania reaffirmed their "support for Ukraine's European perspective."
"We emphasize that, given the significant progress in the implementation of the Association Agreement and internal reforms, as well as the current security challenges, Ukraine deserves EU candidate status and the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland will support Ukraine in achieving this goal," the statement concluded.
Poland’s Duda and Lithuania's Nausėda visited Kyiv on Wednesday to voice their support for Ukraine amid growing fears of a new Russian invasion.
Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and then fomented a separatist conflict in that country's eastern Donbas region, leading to a wave of EU and US sanctions against Moscow and Russian officials.
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Source: PAP, president.pl, president.gov.ua