Milan, 29/08/2014 (Agence Europe) - Upon their arrival at a Council meeting in Milan on Friday 29 August, EU foreign ministers stressed the need for extra action from the EU against Russia, including sanctions. The ministers were due, inter alia, to prepare for the talks on Saturday 30 at the special summit of EU heads of state in Brussels. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski turned up for the meeting with apples as a protest against the Russian embargo on farm products, and hoped the Gymnich-type meeting in Milan would see a “very serious” strategic discussion to see what the High Representative, Italian Presidency and mediating countries think about how Russia can be stopped and “Ukraine saved the way it is now”.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said the question of sanctions would be on the table at the summit. A European sources says the heads of state are expected to instruct the European Commission and EEAS to arrange new financial, arms and export of sensitive material sanctions. Paet said he was convinced that the EU had to be prepared to move forward with potential new measures against Russia because the situation has again got worse. He talked about a “Russian invasion” and hoped the sanctions would really have an impact. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told this newsletter that said he thought “all diplomacy” was reaching a stage where it had stopped working and therefore, if diplomacy does not work, he thought another direction should be taken, by which he means sanctions. He said that there was no military option but it was not possible to stand by and do nothing, put up with it or look the other way.
Didier Reynders from Belgium believed that “the tone, on the diplomatic level and of the sanctions, should be very strong in order to avoid the military escalation”. “We'll try and see how to further strengthen the move through instruments to avoid military escalation (…). We'll look at the means to convince the Russian president to move towards a political solution”, he added. In the view of Martin Lidegaard from Denmark, the situation calls for short-term initiatives and fresh sanctions. “It's not that I think that sanctions will resolve all the issues - it's just that I don't think we can allow these Russian moves without responding”. “The problem is that we are witnessing an escalation on the Russian side and we must show Russia that there will be a strong response from the EU”, he said, also calling for a diplomatic solution.
“The border violations that we are witnessing make us fear that the situation may become uncontrollable. That's why a stop must be put to this if we want to prevent immediate military confrontation between the Russian and Ukrainian forces. If the situation continues, finding political solutions is going to become increasingly difficult”, warned Frank-Walter Steinmeier from Germany.
While, in the view of Lithuanian minister Linas Linkevicius, the EU must consider new sanctions, it should also “study all possible support to the Ukrainian government” - including military support with material. Linkevicius clearly stated that he was not talking about sending men. Carl Bildt from Sweden believed that this was an interesting issue for NATO, and that the EU was bringing humanitarian, financial and political assistance. According to a diplomatic source, the Ukrainian request for arms is not due to be discussed at the European summit.
Several ministers also called for a review of relations with Russia. “More realism is needed”, for example, said Frans Timmermans from the Netherlands, highlighting the Russian approach towards Europe's security. “There is a need to find a modus operandi for relations with Russia”, he added. He believed that this was an “enormous challenge” for the EU and NATO. “The policy towards Russia is not working”, stated Bildt.
Ineffective sanctions. Although sanctions seem to be the preferred option, several ministers acknowledged the ineffectiveness of these measures. In Lidegaard's opinion, “it is true that the sanctions will not be able to resolve the issue”. “The initiatives taken up to now have not been successful”, regretted Reynders, while Paet has not witnessed “results from the political or diplomatic dialogue, or from the sanctions up to this point”. “The sanctions are partly working but you can see the results on the ground, so they are not working enough”, added Linkevicius (our translation throughout). (CG with MP and LC)