Brussels, 01/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 1 September, Russia's President Vladimir Putin called on Europeans to see sense with regard to sanctions. “I hope that common sense will prevail (…) and that neither we, nor our partners, will bear the costs of these mutual jabs”, he said, quoted by Russian news agencies. Last week Moscow warned that it was prepared for retaliation measures against the West should the West impose new sanctions. “Russia does not intend to shut the door but to defend its economy (…) and to draw conclusions from our partners' acts”, said Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov. He wanted relations between Russia, the EU and the US to be relaunched on the basis of “pragmatic cooperation based on equality and mutual respect”. “To meet this objective, the futile policy of threats, ultimatums and sanctions must be abandoned”, he added.
EU ambassadors were due to meet during the afternoon of Saturday 1 September to discuss the situation in Ukraine and the sanctions that could be adopted. According to sources quoted by news service Reuters, the new measures could focus on a ban for Europeans on purchasing new Russian state bonds. Dual use technology - civilian and military - and prospecting equipment in the domain of energy could also be targeted. (CG)