Moscow may face new EU sanctions
Print Edition
EUROPEAN Union leaders met in Brussels last night to discuss how to handle the escalating conflict in Ukraine, including the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia.
At the summit in the Belgian capital, where Poland’s premier was expected to be handed one of the Union’s top jobs and hawkish Kremlin critics in ex-communist Eastern Europe given new influence in the bloc, EU officials extended a warm welcome to Ukraine’s embattled President Petro Poroshenko and assured him further economic and other support.
But divisions among the 28 EU nations have hampered action against Moscow.
French President Francois Hollande said that a failure by Russia to reverse a flow of weapons and troops into eastern Ukraine would force the bloc to impose economic measures.
“Are we going to let the situation worsen, until it leads to war?” Hollande said at a news conference. “Because that’s the risk today. There is no time to waste.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron also stressed the need for action.
“We have to address the completely unacceptable situation of having Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. Countries in Europe shouldn’t need to think long before realizing just how unacceptable that is. We know that from our history,” he said.
But many large Western countries are wary of damaging their own economies through sanctions.
Those include Germany, Britain and France, as well as Italy, which is heavily dependent on Russian gas and expects to secure the post of EU foreign affairs chief.
Poroshenko gave short shrift to Moscow denials by denouncing the incursion of thousands of troops with armored vehicles and said he expected the summit to order the European Commission to prepare a new set of sanctions.
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