By Unic Staff
BRUSSELS, Belgium. European Union (EU) leaders have urged further sanctions on Russia given the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine as evidenced by an array of rocket attacks in Mariupol, southeast Ukraine, on Saturday 24 January 2015.
In their statement, EU leaders denounced “indiscriminate shelling” of Mariupol. The leaders urged Russia to condemn pro-Russian ‘freedom fighters’ and support initiatives toward implementing Minsk Protocol which was signed on September 2014.
EU leaders also asked its foreign ministers to consider further measures against Russia in the light of the country’s “continued and growing support” to pro-Russian ‘freedom fighters’.
Greece’s new leader, Alexis Tsipras, has raised objections to calls for punitive measures against Russia. Greece’s stance poses serious challenge to the EU as the country could veto further sanctions in forthcoming Brussels summit scheduled to hold on February 12, 2015.
The EUs subsisting diplomatic and economic sanctions against Russia is hitting hard causing inflation and plunging value of the rouble.
Diplomatic sanctions: Asset freezes and visa bans on over 100 individuals and many entities who, the EU believes, have been acting in concert with Russia to undermine Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Economic sanctions: There a range of economic sanctions on Russia, such as, EU nationals and companies were ‘partially’ restricted from buying or selling news bonds, equity or related financial instruments with a maturity exceeding 30 days if they are being issued by any of the five major banks owned by Russia or their subsidiaries outside the EU, Russia’s leading energy companies, and Russia’s defence companies. There’s also restriction on EU companies and nationals on providing loans to any of the five major banks owned by Russia. An embargo on importing and exporting of arms and related material to and from Russia, especially all items on the EU common military list is in place.
On November 19, 2014, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told Russia’s State Duma, the lower house of parliament that: Ukraine Crisis is the outcome of decades of selfish Western expansionism.
