The Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States agreed, on Tuesday 22 February, at an informal meeting in hybrid format, on sanctions in reaction to Russia’s recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, which was strongly condemned by the European Union (see EUROPE 12895/1).
Speaking to the press after the meeting, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that this recognition, like the arrival of Russian military forces on Ukrainian soil a few hours later, was “a foreseeable act” and of “extreme gravity”.
In a statement on behalf of the EU27 issued earlier in the day, Mr Borrell said: “this illegal act further undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence and is a severe breach of international law and international agreements”. He added that Russia was clearly violating the Minsk agreements and breaking its commitment to work within the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
For all these reasons, the EU has decided to adopt a first set of measures against Russia and the breakaway regions. After the ministers’ meeting, the EU diplomatic chief detailed the measures, taken in coordination with the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, saying they would “hit Russia hard”.
Thus, the Europeans will sanction several hundred people associated with the recognition decision. According to Mr Borrell, these are the 351 Duma deputies, who voted for this recognition, and 27 individuals and entities that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine. These individuals and entities are the decision-makers responsible for the threats against Ukraine, the entities that financially support or benefit from them, those in the defence sector who played a role in the invasion and destabilising actions, those who wage disinformation “wars” against Ukraine and the banks that finance Russian decision-makers and operations in the separatist regions.
Although primarily responsible for the recognition, Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sanctioned.
In addition, the Europeans will target the ability of the Russian state and government to access EU financial markets and services, thereby limiting the financing of their activities.
Finally, the sanctions will affect economic relations between the two breakaway regions and the EU “to ensure that those responsible feel the economic consequences of their illegal and aggressive action”, the High Representative explained. This had already been done with Crimea, when it was illegally annexed by Russia.
“No more shopping in Milan, no more parties in Saint-Tropez, no more diamonds in Antwerp. This is a first step”, Mr Borrell warned on his Twitter account.
In addition, the German government has autonomously decided to suspend the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (see EUROPE 12896/2).
At the time of going to press, the Member States’ ambassadors, who had already met in the morning to prepare the measures, were meeting again to make further progress.
Threat of additional measures
With the first sanctions not yet formally adopted, the Europeans have already warned that they may take additional measures if Russia continues its actions.
“I’m afraid the story is not over”, Mr Borrell admitted. “We will increase the level of sanctions substantially depending on Russia’s behaviour, because many question marks remain at this critical moment: the annexation, what happens with the rest of the territory of these republics still under the control of the Kiev government...”, he added, warning that the EU was keeping some “ammunition”, if necessary. The EU had prepared a comprehensive package of sanctions in case of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As the ministers were meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he recognised separatist sovereignty over the whole of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, part of which is under government control, and the Russian Federation Council gave permission for the deployment of the Russian military abroad.
According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, “Moscow has now moved from covert attempts to destabilise Ukraine to over military action”. “All indications are that Russia continues to plan a full-scale attack on Ukraine”, he added.
Open door for dialogue
Despite the situation, Europeans are still committed to dialogue. “What we have seen is a desire to move quickly on this first set of sanctions, while saying that this firmness leaves the door open to diplomacy”, said the French minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
For Mr Borrell, “diplomacy must continue in order to avoid a new outbreak of war, a conflict in the heart of Europe. I fully agree with the UN Secretary General that the risk of a major conflict is real and that we must avoid it at all costs”. He announced that he would continue to work within the OSCE, in particular, to bring Russia back to the negotiating table.
Mr Le Drian said his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, scheduled for Friday, had been cancelled.
See the statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU27: https://aeur.eu/f/gc (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)