Full EU-US Summit Statement-Russia, China Sections In Focus

Full statement from conclusion of EU-US summit earlier today: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/50443/eu-us-...

• We stand united in our principled approach towards Russia and we are ready to respond decisively to its repeating pattern of negative behaviour and harmful activities, which Russia must address to prevent the further deterioration of relations including on the list of so-called unfriendly states. To coordinate our policies and actions we plan to establish an EU-US high-level dialogue on Russia. We condemn Russia's continued actions to undermine Ukraine's and Georgia's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. We call on Russia to ensure foreign diplomatic missions in Russia can operate in a safe, secure and productive fashion. We urge Russia to stop its continuous crackdown on civil society, the opposition and independent media and release all political prisoners. At the same time, we keep channels of communication open and possibilities for selective cooperation in areas of common interest. We also commit to work together to address the urgent and escalating threat from criminal ransomware networks that pose risks to our citizens and companies.
• We intend to closely consult and cooperate on the full range of issues in the framework of our respective similar multi-faceted approaches to China, which include elements of cooperation, competition, and systemic rivalry. We intend to continue coordinating on our shared concerns, including ongoing human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet; the erosion of autonomy and democratic processes in Hong Kong; economic coercion; disinformation campaigns; and regional security issues. We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions. We reaffirm the critical importance of respecting international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) noting its provisions setting forth the lawful maritime entitlements of States, on maritime delimitation, on the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of States, on the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means, and on the freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the sea. We underscore the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and encourage the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. We intend also to coordinate on our constructive engagement with China on issues such as climate change and non-proliferation, and on certain regional issues.