Upon their arrival at the European summit on Thursday 20 October, EU heads of state and government threatened Russia with extra sanctions due to the situation in Syria. EU-Russian relations and events in Syria were due to be discussed by the leaders over dinner.
The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, warned that it was difficult, indeed impossible, to talk about Russia and not mention the attacks on civilians and hospitals in Aleppo. He said the EU had to keep all options open, including sanctions, if these crimes were to continue, but the summit would not be taking any decisions. The question of sanctions on Russia due to Syria is not a subject for discussion for the European summit, he said. Although all options were still open, the EU will first be concentrating on the urgent need to get humanitarian aid to Aleppo, explained Mogherini.
The Estonian foreign minister, Taavi Roivas, said they were sending a clear message to the Syrian regime and its allies, principally Russia, about the fact that turning Aleppo into a new Grozny is absolutely unacceptable, referring to the destruction of the Chechen city by Russian troops in 1999-2000. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said it was important for the summit’s message to be clear and of one voice because what was happening in Aleppo was inhuman.
The French president, François Hollande, said the priority was to extend the truce in Aleppo and all options were open while there is not a respected truce and while the desire to destroy the martyr city of Aleppo continues. He said that he had come to convince Europe to put all necessary pressure for the truce to continue, for humanitarian aid to arrive and for political talks to then take place on the future of Syria. It is vital for us to work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to get it to stop these appalling atrocities in Syria, said the British prime minister, Theresa May.
Her Swedish counterpart, Stefan Löfven, saying it was truly unacceptable to bomb humanitarian convoys and hospitals, and said that one option might be sanctions. He admitted, however, that there would not be enough agreement around the table at the summit for such a move, but he said it could be an option for the future. The prime ministers of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, said what was happening in Aleppo was unacceptable and he condemned it in the firmest manner, but asked if sanctions were the right subject of discussion for Thursday. He said they would have to see how to deal with it.
In a draft conclusions document dated 19 October and seen by EUROPE, the European summit warns that the EU will consider all options, including further restrictive measures targeted at individuals and bodies that back the regime, if the current atrocities continue. A European source said that this sentence had been added upon request from a huge number of member states but had not yet been validated by EU28 sherpas. Unlike the foreign ministers, who called on Monday17 October for restrictive measures to be prepared against Syria for Syrian people and bodies backing the regime as long as the repression continues, Europe’s leaders do not say that the measures should only cover Syrians, thus leaving options open for possible sanctions against Russia (see EUROPE 11647). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)