EU foreign ministers extend sanctions, avoid new economic ones

The EU Foreign Ministers Council decided on Jan. 29 to support extending for six months until September its Crimea-related sanctions against Russian citizens and enterprises, as well as expand the list of those targeted, said following its Brussels meeting Federica Mogherini, the EU higher representative for foreign affairs and security policy. “We hope that this can help in putting pressure, in particular on Russia, to make positive steps and prevent the negative steps that we have seen in the recent days,” Mogherini said.

The new sanctions targets will be approved at the EU foreign ministers council on Feb. 9. No mention of new economic sanctions was made in the ministers’ statement other that “any appropriate action” will be considered for the Feb. 12 EU summit of government leaders, the Associated Press reported. “France and some others said that while firmness was essential, room for negotiation had to be kept open,” the AP reported.

The newly elected radical left-wing government in Greece revealed its foreign policy to be aligned with the Russian government. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias pointed out that the Council’s Jan. 29 statement made no direct reference to Russian responsibility for the recent violence in Ukraine and “the main thing that we wanted removed and over which there was a two-hour battle was the proposal for new sanctions,” the AP reported. “sanctions haven’t worked anywhere, except for countries in the process of collapse,” Kotzias said.

Kotzias called for the EU to develop a new strategy for dealing with Russia. “We don’t’ want for the EU to build its policy based on the interests of those countries that have emotional, historical relations with Russia,” he said. He voiced support for Ukraine’s federalization, in an interview with a French publication published the same day. “I don’t understand the countries of western Europe when they say that a federal system isn’t a good resolution for Ukraine because of the Russians,” he said. “We have the example of the German Federal Republic or the autonomous regions in Spain.”

Zenon Zawada: The ability of the Greeks to already influence the EU Foreign Ministers Council is a troubling development for Ukraine in terms of its ability to rally support in the European Union. Though weak at the moment, the Russian position has the potential to strengthen when combined with the radical left threatening to take power in Spain and the rise of the radical right in France.

It’s worth noting that with his statements, Kotzias himself poked holes in the Russian arguments. He referred to Ukraine as driven by emotions, yet it’s Russian President Putin who has made emotionally driven claims to Symferopol as Russia’s Jerusalem in justifying his annexation of Crimea. Kotzias pointed to the autonomous regions of Spain to justify federalization of Ukraine, yet it was precisely the autonomous status of the Republic of Crimea that Russia exploited when annexing that territory. The Ukrainian cause is a rational one, based on rule of law and private property rights, among other principles.