Ambassadors of the EU Member States (Coreper) reached political agreement on Wednesday 5 December, for restrictive measures against nine people who have a responsibility in the so-called elections held in the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk on 11 November, a European source confirmed to EUROPE (see EUROPE 12135).
The measures - freezing of assets and visa ban - will be formally adopted on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council. These individuals will join the 155 individuals and 44 entities sanctioned for actions that "compromise or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine".
In addition, upon her arrival at the NATO ministerial meeting (see other news), High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, announced that she would meet "separately" on Thursday, on the margins of the OSCE ministerial meeting in Milan, with Russian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin to discuss tensions at Azov.
Mr Klimkin will also be present at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 10 December, invited by Mrs Mogherini, who explained that this invitation is an opportunity "to show the solidarity of the European Union to Ukraine in this difficult moment and to discuss with him the next steps to try to increase the security" in his country. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)