Rift over Russian sanctions escalates
Rift over Russian sanctions escalates
A rift between the United States and member states of the European Union on whether to impose additional sanctions against Russia is becoming more public as tensions in the east of Ukraine continue to mount.
John Kerry, the secretary of state, has warned Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, that the Obama administration would impose additional sanctions on Russia unless its leadership took “positive steps to de-escalate” the situation in Ukraine, a US official told reporters in Washington yesterday (23 April).
The official said that there was no indication that Russia was implementing an agreement struck with Ukraine in Geneva last Thursday (17 April) that was overseen by US and EU mediators.
US vice-president Joe Biden said during a visit to Kiev on Tuesday that Russia would face new sanctions unless it pulled back its troops from the border with Ukraine and abided by the Geneva deal.
Lavrov warned yesterday that any attack on ethnic Russians in Ukraine would be viewed as an attack against Russia itself, and would trigger a response from Moscow.
But European politicians are warning that talk of new sanctions against Russia is counterproductive. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, said that the energy used in debating sanctions would be better spent on avoiding an escalation.
Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria said yesterday (23 April): “I would fundamentally support what the German foreign minister Steinmeier made clear again today: that conflict between Russia and Ukraine should not be inflamed by additional sanctions, but on the contrary, that de-escalation is what is required.”
Faymann said that Austria’s finance ministry was working on an assessment of what the implications of additional sanctions for EU businesses might be. Several EU member states are reluctant to approve new sanctions because they fear the economic fallout.
The European Commission is also preparing to hold talks with Ukraine and Russia on ensuring that gas supplies via Ukraine are not disrupted.
The US is seeking to co-ordinate its response with the EU. Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, met Bill Burns, the deputy secretary of state, in London on Tuesday evening (22 April) to discuss the crisis. A spokesman for Ashton said: “What we do [on sanctions] depends on the situation on the ground. We have not reached the point yet where a decision is required.”