NATO Leaders Call on Russia to Withdraw Troops from Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova

NATO leaders reaffirmed their support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the occupied territories. This is stated in paragraph 14 of the final communiqué of the NATO summit, the text of which was made public on the website of the North Atlantic Alliance, reports nv.ua “We reaffirm our support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova within their internationally recognized borders. We call on Russia to withdraw the forces that it has deployed in all three countries without their consent,” the document says. NATO leaders "strongly condemn and do not recognize the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea by Russia and condemn its temporary occupation." They stressed that Russia must stop human rights violations against Crimean Tatars and other local communities. “Russia's recent military build-up and its destabilizing actions in and around Ukraine have escalated tensions and eroded security. We call on Russia to reverse this military build-up and end restrictions on shipping in the Black Sea. We also call on Russia to stop creating obstacles to access to the Sea of Azov and Ukrainian ports,” the document says. At the same time, the Allies welcomed Ukraine's position, which is based on restraint and seeks a diplomatic approach. NATO leaders expressed their desire to help de-escalate tensions. “We are also increasing our assistance to Ukraine. We call for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by all parties and support the efforts of the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group. Russia, as a party to the Minsk agreements, bears a great responsibility in this sense. We call on Russia to stop fueling the conflict by providing financial and military assistance to armed groups in eastern Ukraine,” the leaders of the NATO countries noted. They expressed their full support for the activities of the OSCE SMM in Ukraine and noted the importance of ensuring safe, full and unhindered access for its representatives to the entire territory of Ukraine, including Crimea and a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border, in accordance with the mandate of the OSCE Mission. The leaders of the NATO countries called on the Russian Federation to cancel the acts of recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which are regions of Georgia, to fulfill the ceasefire agreement agreed with the EU in 2008, to stop the militarization of these regions and attempts to separate them from the rest of Georgia by the construction of obstacles on the administrative borders, to stop human rights violations and violence against Georgian citizens. NATO also called on Russia to constructively join the settlement process in Transdniestria, expressed support for democratic reforms in the Republic of Moldova and their intention to continue providing assistance to this country within the framework of a joint defense initiative with NATO.