EU for more sanctions against Russia

By sagarmedia on November 15, 2014 | Edit

European foreign ministers are considering further sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine situation, European Council (EC) President Herman Van Rompuy said on Saturday.

Speaking at the G20 leaders summit in Brisbane, Van Rompuy said European Union (EU) leaders will meet U.S. President Barack Obama during the summit to discuss the Ukraine situation.

“Russia must stop the inflow of weapons and troops from its territory into Ukraine and Russia must withdraw those already present,” Van Rompuy told reporters.

Van Rompuy said EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to consider further actions against Russia.

“I want to restate that the European Union continues to believe that there can only be political solution to the crisis. We will continue to use all diplomatic tools, including sanctions, at our disposal.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Brisbane on Friday night and is expected to be confronted by Western leaders over his country’s support of pro-Russian rebels in the Ukraine conflict, which has seen more than 4,000 people killed since April.

European Union said on Saturday that the Ukraine crisis can only be resolved by political solutions including sanctions.

Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, made the remarks at a press conference at the international media center for the G20 Leaders Summit in Australia’s Brisbane.

“The EU foreign ministers will on Monday assess the situation on the ground and discuss possible further steps. We need to avoid a return to full conflict,” he told reporters.

He stressed that all parties should abide the Minsk agreement achieved in September, saying “the rebels, Ukraine authority must apply maxim restraint, and Russia must apply all its influence to the rebels, to insure the implementation of the agreement.”

Over last week, particularly on the night of Nov. 9, hostilities in Ukraine were at their worst in months, with a heavy exchange of artillery shelling in and around Donetsk.

The tension has escalated since Ukrainian authorities decided to repeal law which grants “special status” to Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which raised fears that a process of prisoners-of-war swap may be disrupted.

The Ukrainian government and the insurgent leadership inked a ceasefire deal on Sept. 5 in the Belarussian capital city of Minsk, aiming at de-escalating the tension and facilitating the release of hundreds of prisoners-of-war.

But after Kiev decided to abolish the law on “special status” of the two regions, the insurgent leadership said they will not observe the Minsk peace protocol.