Brussels, 09/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of 8 September, the Council of the European Union adopted the new sanctions against Russia by written procedure - but it decided to delay their implementation.
“The entry into force through the publication in the Official Journal will take place in the next few days”, said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. “This will leave time for an assessment of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the peace plan”, he said, adding that, “depending on the situation on the ground, the EU stands ready to review the agreed sanctions in whole or in part”.
Initially, publication of the new sanctions in the Official Journal and their entry into force were planned for 9 September. However, several countries - including Finland - have reportedly been in favour of delaying implementation of the sanctions in order to observe how the situation develops on the ground. “What a day! Things never turn out as you plan. Got things sorted after umpteen phone calls around Europe”, said Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb on Twitter on 8 September. “Self-evident that Finland supports common EU line on Russia sanctions. Hope things in Ukraine improve asap, then sanctions not necessary”, he tweeted.
The EU member state ambassadors to the EU will meet again on Wednesday 10 September in order to review the situation.
Van Rompuy stated that the measures adopted would consist of “deepening the targeted measures of 31 July”. “The sanctions aim at promoting a change of course in Russia's actions destabilising eastern Ukraine and come in the wake of the European Council of 30 August, which condemned the increasing inflows of fighters and weapons from the territory of the Russian Federation into Eastern Ukraine and the aggression by Russian armed forces on Ukrainian soil”, he added.
The new sanctions, the detail of which has not been officially published, are expected to focus on strengthened measures as regards market access for capital, the large Russian companies Rosneft and Transneft (amongst others), and the oil activities of Gazprom. Also targeted are the defence sector, dual use (civil and military) equipment, and sensitive technology. Additional people are also expected to be the subject of an assets freeze and visa ban.
Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, welcomed the adoption of these sanctions, and called on the EU member states to implement “this important decision without delay in order to change the aggressor's behaviour and ensure that the Russian side fulfils the conditions clearly identified in the European Council conclusions”. Among these conditions, he mentioned the immediate withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine, closure of the common border and its monitoring by the OSCE so as to stop the illegal flow of militants and armaments from Russia, and the release of Ukrainian citizens illegally imprisoned in Russia. “Only a smart combination of diplomatic efforts and consistent motivating pressure by the EU are able to establish favourable conditions for implementation of the peace plan of the president of Ukraine”, he added.
Elsewhere, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed, during a telephone conversation, to continue the dialogue with a view to putting an end to the conflict, the Kremlin announced. The two men continued their efforts to coordinate action to support the ceasefire between the Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels in Eastern Ukraine - a ceasefire that was concluded in Minsk on Friday, according to the Ukrainian presidency. (CG)