On Tuesday 21 August, the UK's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was expected to call for further European sanctions against Russia.
"And today the United Kingdom asks its allies to go further by calling on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the US. That means calling out and responding to transgressions with one voice whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea", Hunt was expected to say during a speech in the USA, extracts of which have been sent to the media in advance. This will be Hunt's first major foreign policy speech since his appointment as foreign secretary in July.
According to Hunt, international rules are repeatedly flouted by big countries such as Russia. Such aggressive and malign behaviour undermines the international order that is supposed to protect us, Hunt was expected to add.
When asked about possible further European sanctions, the spokesperson for the European External Action Service, Maja Kocijancic, said the EU already had strict measures against Russia, in connection with the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the Skripal affair. And she said that any decision concerning further measures remained in the hands of the Council and should be taken unanimously by the 28 EU member states.
The USA has recently announced new sanctions against Moscow in connection with the Skripal affair. At the end of March, 14 member states expelled Russian diplomats after the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, in the UK (see EUROPE 11989). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)