EU to closely follow issuance of Russian passports to Ukrainians

This is underscored in a statement made by the delegation of the European Union at the OSCE Permanent Council meeting in Vienna on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The decree, signed by Russian President Putin on April 24, which encourages Ukrainian citizens residing in the territories controlled by Russian-backed armed formations to apply for Russian citizenship, is the alarming developments and another Russia’s attack on the sovereignty of Ukraine. This decision, made immediately after the presidential election in Ukraine that demonstrated Ukraine's strong commitment to democracy and the rule of law, clearly points to Russia's intention to further destabilize Ukraine and exacerbate the conflict, not to conduct a constructive dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities," the statement says.

At the same time, the EU stated that they took into account another Putin's decree on acquiring Russian citizenship by certain categories of Ukrainian citizens under a simplified procedure, which was published on May 1.

"We took note of the fact that President Putin signed another decree on May 1 and we will closely monitor developments around citizenship and simplification of issuance of passports. We urge Russia to refrain from actions that jeopardize the implementation of the Minsk agreements and hinder full reintegration of the territories controlled by the Russian-backed armed formations into Ukraine," the statement notes.

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