EU warns Russia
SANCTIONS THREAT DROPPED: But, it will consider other options if atrocities continue in Aleppo
EUROPEAN Union leaders backed down yesterday from an explicit threat of sanctions against Russia over the bombing of Aleppo, but warned that they would consider “all available options” if atrocities in Syria continue.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi demanded that any mention of possible punitive measures against Moscow over the Syrian carnage should be removed from a statement issued after a summit here.
The climbdown underscored the deep divisions between the 28 EU leaders as they tried to thrash out a long-term strategy on their increasingly bellicose eastern neighbour.
The watered-down statement said EU “strongly condemns the attacks by the Syrian regime and its allies, notably Russia, on civilians in Aleppo” and called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities”.
“EU is considering all available options, should the current atrocities European Union leaders at the in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday. EU Leaders met for a two-day summit to discuss migration, trade and Russia, including its role in Syria. EPA pic continue”, it added.
An earlier draft had mentioned sanctions.
Russia had upstaged the summit by announcing that it would halt hostilities over Aleppo on the same day, and said on Thursday it would extend the truce by 24 hours.
EU president Donald Tusk, who had earlier said that sanctions should be on the table, insisted that the leaders had agreed to “keep the unity of the EU” over Russia.
The leaders brought up Russian “airspace violations, disinformation campaigns, cyberattacks, interference in political processes in the Balkans and beyond” and other issues.
“Given these examples, it is clear that Russia’s strategy is to weaken EU,” said Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland, one of the countries that is most hawkish on Russia.
EU is due to decide at its next summit in December whether to renew sanctions over the Ukraine crisis for another six months.
But it remains split over how best to deal with Russia, with countries such as Italy and Greece favouring selective engagement with a major economic partner and energy supplier.
Renzi said the priority had to be to “make all possible efforts to find a peace deal in Syria”.
“I believe there wouldn’t have been any sense in inserting a reference to sanctions, while the rest of the statement was what foreign ministers approved on Monday.”
The leaders of France and Germany had also called for sanctions to remain on the table after they met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on Wednesday night in Berlin. AFP