Russia's actions against Ukraine violated the Helsinki Final Act and the Budapest memorandum, according to which Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Romanian MEP Ioan Mircea Pascu (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament) has said.

Russia has always expressed disquiet over NATO's expansion. Now Russia has come close to NATO, Pascu said while presenting a draft of his report on the military situation in the Black Sea basin after Russia's annexation of Crimea.

During the first discussion of Pascu's draft report, Polish MEP Marek Jurek (European Conservatives and Reformists) noted that the annexation of Crimea had completely changed the security situation, and that the EU should find a proper political answer to Moscow's actions.

Our reaction should be symmetrical. If the situation in the Black Sea basin is changing the West must respond as well, especially considering that the Baltic States are also under threat, Jurek said.

Another representative of the conservatives Charles Tannock (UK) drew attention to the situation of ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea, which has considerably worsened since Russia's annexation of the peninsula.

It became a fascist regime towards the Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, he noted.

In addition, the recent Russian-Turkish negotiations made Tannock doubt that Ankara would remain a reliable NATO ally.

In turn, Estonian MEP Tunne Kelam (European People's Party) noted that Russia had violated the existing world order.

Crimea has now become a Russian base, and more and more soldiers are going to it, he said.

The MEP didn't rule out the possibility that Russia would try to set up a corridor to Transdniestria through Mariupol and Odesa. He urged for a more active position regarding Moscow.

If there were no sanctions, Russia would have already done it, he noted.

The draft of the report will likely be put to a vote in the session hall in March 2015.