(Paris) The invasion of Ukraine unleashed on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin has sparked a wave of condemnation, mainly from Westerners, who have announced new sanctions, but also from Turkey, and even skepticism from Iran, but China’s understanding.
Updated yesterday at 9:14 p.m.
United States
Joe Biden, for whom the master of the Kremlin will become “a pariah on the international scene”, has announced restrictions on the export of technological products to Russia.
US sanctions also target major Russian financial institutions, as well as several large corporations and oligarchs.
The United States will defend “every inch of NATO territory,” he said. But they will not send troops to Ukraine.
The Pentagon will, however, send some 7,000 more troops to Germany.
UN
“In the name of humanity, bring your troops back to Russia!” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres asked Vladimir Putin.
The UN Security Council meets at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET) on Friday to vote on a draft resolution by the United States and Albania condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and him demanding an immediate withdrawal of its troops, a text doomed to failure because of Moscow’s right of veto.
European Union
The leaders of the 27 EU countries have taken “massive” sanctions against Russia in the energy, finance and transport sectors.
“Russia’s leaders will face unprecedented isolation,” promised Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. This is the “toughest set of sanctions ever implemented” by the EU, said the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
China
China “understands Russia’s reasonable security concerns,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
G7
Joe Biden announced that the leaders of the G7 (Germany, Canada, United States, France, Italy, Japan and United Kingdom) had agreed to impose “devastating” sanctions on Russia.
Turkey
“We reject this unacceptable operation”, which is “a blow to regional peace and stability”, declared Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is a member of NATO and borders the Black Sea, like Russia and Ukraine.
Iran
“We do not consider war as a solution”, reacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, for whom however “the Ukrainian crisis has its roots in the provocations of NATO”.
NATO
Atlantic Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned “Russia’s reckless and unprovoked attack on Ukraine”.
He announced for Friday a summit of NATO leaders by videoconference in order to “analyze the way forward” and the activation of “defense plans”.
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the only international body on the ground, ordered the emergency evacuation of its observation mission in Ukraine.
France
Vladimir Putin “has decided to carry out the most serious attack on peace, stability in our Europe for decades”, declared President Emmanuel Macron, who called on the Russian president on Thursday to “demand an immediate stop” of the offensive in Ukraine.
However, he deemed it useful to “leave the way open” for dialogue with the Russian president.
Germany
The Russian invasion is “a glaring violation” of international law that “threats to peace” in Europe, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose country says it is ready to “massively help” its neighbors, in particular Poland , in the event of an influx of Ukrainian refugees.
Sanctions against Russia will “significantly limit” its access to international markets, Berlin has also warned.
UK
Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “horrible events in Ukraine”, a “catastrophe for the European continent”.
Calling the Russian president a “dictator”, Mr Johnson promised “massive” Western sanctions to thwart Vladimir Putin’s “atrocious and barbaric enterprise”.
Italy
The Russian attack is “unjustified and unjustifiable”, judged Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who urged Moscow to “unconditionally withdraw its military forces”.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe, an intergovernmental organization to which Russia adheres and which had taken sanctions against Moscow after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, “considers” to take new sanctions.
Japan
The Russian attack in Ukraine “shakes the foundations of the international order”, denounced Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
In agreement with its G7 partners, Japan announced on Friday additional sanctions against Moscow, targeting the financial sector and the export of electronic components.
Canada
Canada will sanction “58 Russian individuals and entities”, announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Greece
The Russian invasion is an attempt to “revise history by armed force”, judged Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Czech Republic
President Milos Zeman has compared Vladimir Putin to a “crazy [devant] be isolated” and called the invasion of Ukraine an “unprovoked act of aggression”.
Poland
For Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Ukraine “is fighting on behalf of all of Europe” against Russian “barbarism”.
Poland, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE, called the Russian invasion a “crime against humanity”.
Australia
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a “second round” of sanctions against Russian civil or legal persons, in particular against oligarchs and more than 300 members of the Duma who voted for the “illegal invasion of Ukraine”.
“There must be a cost. There must be a price and it must be imposed by the global community,” said the Australian Prime Minister, who also announced the shipment of “non-lethal military equipment and medical aid” as part of the NATO.
Spain
Madrid “stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian government and people,” said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Nordic countries
Finland and Sweden, non-NATO members, condemned the Russian attack, each deploring “an attack on the European security order”.
For its part, Norway, a member of the Atlantic Alliance, denounced a “serious violation of international law” and announced the move of its embassy from Kiev to Lviv, in western Ukraine. Denmark called February 24, 2022 a “stain in Russian history”.
African Union
The African Union (AU) called for an “immediate ceasefire”, saying that the situation risked degenerating into “a global conflict”.
South Africa
The Foreign Ministry urged Russia “to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine”.
Vatican
The Holy See lamented that “the (dreaded) tragic scenarios are becoming reality”, but judges that there is “still room for negotiations”.