More extended quotes from U.S. President Barack Obama and European Council President Donald Tusk during their meeting in Washington on Monday.
Obama: "We are all committed to making sure that we uphold the basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that have been threatened by Russian aggression. We have been able to maintain strong unity with respect to sanctions. We very much appreciate the work that's been done by [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel and [French] President Francois Holland to establish a Minsk process but we also know from experiences over the last year that, unless we have strong monitoring and strong implementation, that these agreements will be meaningless."
Obama: "Part of what we will be discussing is how do we make sure that we are able to monitor effectively what's happening on the ground in Ukraine and how can we continue to maintain pressure on Russia, on the separatists, to abide by these agreements."
Tusk: Today, we can see with full clarity that they are trying to divide us inside of Europe as well as Europe and America. But when we are united we will be able to put a stop to the aggressive policy of Russia against its neighbors."
Tusk: "Of course we need a balanced result of negotiations for sure and we have to convince our public opinion on both sides of the Atlantic. But we have strong arguments and I believe that 2015 will be a crucial year in this process because in fact TTIP is not only about trade but also about [the] chance of growth, jobs and also it's about geopolitical security and our transatlantic cooperation."
Quoting pro-Kyiv military blogger Dmitriy Tymchuk:
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in London today:
"We are in familiar territory for anyone over the age of about 50 with Russia's aggressive behavior a stark reminder that it has the potential to pose the single greatest threat to our security."
"Continuing to gather intelligence on Russia capabilities and intentions will remain a vital part of our intelligence effort for the foreseeable future. It is no coincidence that all of our agencies are recruiting Russian speakers again."
From our newsroom, more on Putin disclosures concerning the premeditated land grab of Crimea from Ukraine:
Putin Says Crimeans Were Surveyed Before Annexation Vote
