Athens, April 5 (IANS): A two-day informal summit of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Athens ended Saturday with a re-affirmation of a common stance on the resolution of the crisis in Ukraine and a call for de-escalation of tension.

"Ukraine was on top of our agenda. We remained united in our determination to act together to deal with the threat against Ukraine's sovereignty and stability," Xinhua quoted Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission, as saying.

"Our position is very clear. Our policy is a policy of principles. Our goal is always the need for respect of the international legal order, but on the other hand it is very important for us to keep open the channels of political and diplomatic dialogue because we need a consensual, politically applicable solution. The main issue now is de-escalation," Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos added.

The 28 EU foreign ministers Saturday attended a working breakfast with their counterparts from EU accession-candidate countries.