EU refuses to issue explicit threat of sanctions against Russia
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British Prime minister Theresa May (L) talks with Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite (2nd-L), Austria’s Chancellor Christian Kern (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd-R) during an EU summit in Brussels, Oct. 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)
The European Union has refrained from issuing an explicit threat of sanctions against Russia for supporting the Syrian government, amid divisions within the 28-member bloc over any such measure.
According to Press TV, EU leaders, who had initially prepared a strongly-worded draft statement for a summit in Brussels, issued a watered-down version of the text at the end of the event on Friday.
The summit was held at the request of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to discuss EU’s strategy toward Russia, which is helping the Syrian government battle terrorists in Aleppo and elsewhere.
The West has stepped up pressure on Russia to stop targeting terrorist-held neighborhoods in Aleppo and blamed the country for the worsening humanitarian situation in the city.
The original draft had said the EU was “considering all options, including further restrictive measures targeting individuals and entities supporting" Syria. The draft text only mentioned Russia by name among the supporters of Damascus.
However, Renzi demanded that any explicit reference to sanctions be removed from the final statement.
“I believe there wouldn’t have been any sense in inserting a reference to sanctions,” the Italian prime minister told reporters after the summit.
The final statement was reworded to say the EU “strongly condemns” attacks by Syria “and its allies, notably Russia,” and called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities.”
Renzi’s opposition to sanctions laid bare disagreements among EU members. European Council President Donald Tusk cried foul, saying Russian foreign policy was an attempt to "weaken the EU."
The European leader accused Russia of a myriad of offences, but said leaders had to forgo the sanctions threat to “keep the unity of the EU” toward Russia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, said the European Union is willing to maintain good relations with Russia. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Berlin on Wednesday.
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