EU to sanction eight Russians for Azov Sea standoff

BRUSSELS: The EU has decided to sanction eight Russian nationals for their responsibility in incidents in the Azov Sea last November, several European sources told AFP.

The Ukraine- Russia conflict flared up when Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and captured two dozen sailors as they tried to pass from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.

The November confrontation was the first open military incident between Kiev and Moscow since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula and a conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine.

The measure will be submitted on Monday for approval to EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels, the sources confirmed.

These are “targeted and individual sanctions”, a diplomat said, with the eight blacklist targets to be banned from entering the EU and their assets frozen.

“There was a unanimous decision to sanction those responsible,” another source said.

Legal proceedings will then be launched and the names of those on the blacklist will remain sealed until the decision is published in the coming weeks.

The Azov Sea standoff was seen as an open violation of the EUbrokered Minsk peace agreement, which was endorsed by both Moscow and Kiev in late 2014, but is violated regularly. — AFP