EU considers sanctions on Russia over Ukraine border tension

THE EUROPEAN Union’s foreign ministers met yesterday to discuss new sanctions to deter Russia from invading neighboring Ukraine after Moscow massed troops on the border, according to EU diplomats.

Although EU foreign ministers want to de-escalate the situation with Moscow, “sometimes you have to whisper softly but carry a certain stick,” an EU diplomat said.

For weeks tensions have skyrocketed over Russia’s growing military presence on Ukraine’s border. According to NATO, Russia has gathered between 75,000 and 100,000 soldiers leading to fears of a repeat of 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and began supporting proRussian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Last Friday, the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement that Russia had also blocked off almost 70% of the Sea of Azov around the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

G-7 foreign ministers agreed at a meeting over the weekend that if Russia crossed the border into Ukraine, it “would have enormous political and economic consequences.” EU members Germany, France and Italy are also in the G-7.

EU foreign ministers are also set to discuss the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the United States and NATO troops in the summer. China’s recent aggression and customs sanctions on Lithuania after Vilnius attempted to develop closer ties with Taiwan are to feature as well, according to a senior EU official.

The same senior EU official confirmed to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) that the EU was ready to impose sanctions for the first time on the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary firm accused of Kremlin connections, for its activities in Syria, Ukraine and Libya and alleged human rights violations.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia could face all forms of economic sanctions if Moscow decides to move ahead with invasion plans. She also said that the country may be ready to look again at Britain’s anti-money laundering laws, which some see as a way for Russian elites to hide their money, according to British newspaper The Guardian. Truss underlined that any military operations against Ukraine would come with a “severe cost” for Russia.

While Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media that the country’s leader Vladimir Putin told his counterpart U.S. President Joe Biden in a video call last week that Russian troops posed no threat to anyone, many European states along with American officials regard these claims with suspicion. The coming economic sanctions could include the banning of access to global financial markets and establishing new conditions for financing Russia’s public debt. Also on the agenda is the cancellation of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.

Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said on Sunday that the pipeline will not be allowed to operate in case of Ukrainian “escalation.” The decision came as an agreement between Germany and the U.S. “In the event of further escalation, this gas pipeline could not come into service,” Baerbock told German television station ZDF.