No need for fresh EU sanctions on Russia: Czech official
A senior Czech official says there is no need for new sanctions against Russia in the wake of the ceasefire between the Kyiv government and pro-Russian forces and the recent positive developments in eastern Ukraine.
“I think a majority (in the European Union) is now thinking about the sanctions not being tightened. Since all sides [to the Ukrainian conflict] have taken positive steps in accordance with the EU’s demands, and the sanctions have had an effect, there is no reason to toughen them for now,” Czech State Secretary for European Affairs Tomas Prouza said on Monday.
He added that EU should not introduce new anti-Russia sanctions or at least it should agree on a mechanism to lift the planned bans quickly.
“The Czech Republic would support the toughening of sanctions if the Ukrainian conflict escalated again. For the time being, we’ve heard that the situation is calming down, so we believe that the new sanctions either should not be introduced or the EU should have a very fast mechanism enabling their removal,” the Czech official said.
The European Union has formally adopted a fresh package of sanctions against Russia despite Moscow’s warnings of retaliation. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy announced the sanctions on Monday saying that their implementation will take place over the next few days.
Moscow has said that it will retaliate if the bloc goes ahead with the new sanctions, possibly by banning international flights over its territory.
Following negotiations in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk on September 5, Kyiv and the pro-Russians inked the Russian-proposed ceasefire pact aimed at putting an end to heavy clashes in Ukraine’s eastern areas.
Western powers and the Kyiv government accuse Moscow of having a hand in the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies the accusation.
MP/HJL