EU holds off on adding to Russian sanctions

The European Union agreed to postpone the addition of new names to the Russia sanction list yesterday, pending the outcome of the latest Franco-German initiative to forge a peace deal with Russia over Ukraine.

EU foreign ministers met in Brussels three days after German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande visited Moscow in an attempt to push forward peace talks with Russia.

But foreign ministers agreed to postpone the addition of 19 individuals and nine organisations until next Monday to “give space” to the latest initiative to find a resolution to the Ukraine crisis, which has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people since April.

The resurgent effort to secure a peace deal continues tomorrow in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, where the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine will meet to try to secure a deal. Ukraine is also expected to be high on the agenda at Thursday's summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

Speaking after the European Council meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said the decision to postpone the commencement of the sanctions, which had been expected to come into effect today, was taken in light of the meeting in Belarus.

Commencement order

“It was agreed that there would be a list of names, a list of entities, but there was an issue around the commencement order. It was therefore agreed that the sanctions would be triggered on Monday, because we’re anxious to ensure that the diplomatic efforts are given fair wind, in particular the meeting [tomorrow] involving France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia,” Mr Flanagan told

The Irish Times

after the meeting.

Asked if the Franco-German initiative to solve the Ukraine crisis risked undermining the EU’s collective effort to forge a policy on Ukraine and Russia, Mr Flanagan said there was no conflict between the EU’s policy and that of France and Germany.

“We had lengthy contributions from both France and Germany today outlining their initiative and their position. I think it’s fair to say that at [tomorrow’s] engagement France and Germany will be speaking for and on behalf of the European Union.”

He said the EU was united in its resolve to pursue a diplomatic approach to the Ukraine crisis.

Unanimous voice

“The unanimous voice today was that the issue will be dealt with by political and diplomatic means. It was felt that [tomorrow’s meeting] is a real opportunity for the parties to engage on the brink of what is becoming a really serious crisis,” he said.

Though not officially on the agenda, Ukraine dominated discussion among EU foreign ministers in Brussels, as Dr Merkel discussed the crisis with US president Barack Obama in Washington.

Signs of tension are emerging in the transatlantic approach to Russia, with Mr Obama indicating that Washington was prepared to send arms to help the government in Ukraine. However the EU, which is being affected by retaliatory sanctions imposed by Russia, is divided on how best to respond to Moscow, almost a year after sanctions were first introduced.

Speaking in Brussels yesterday, Lithuania’s foreign minister expressed doubts about the chance of a peace deal succeeding, and said it would be a “logical move” for the US to send weapons to the Ukrainian army. Dr Merkel has ruled out sending arms to Ukraine.