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EU will consider further Russia sanctions over Ukraine: presidency
BERLIN, Nov 27, 2018 (AFP) – The European Union will next month consider
further sanctions against Russia over the latest flare-up in the Ukraine
conflict, the foreign minister of Austria, which holds the rotating EU
presidency, said Tuesday.
“On the issue of further sanctions, time will tell — we have a summit in
December,” Karin Kneissl told reporters after talks with her German
counterpart Heiko Maas.
“Everything depends on the accounts of events and the actions of both
sides. But it will need to be reviewed.”
Kneissl said it was “one side’s account versus the other’s” in the latest
tensions, in which Kiev declared martial law in response to Moscow’s seizure
of three of its navy vessels.
Thus the facts would need to be studied before conclusions could be
drawn, she said.
Maas said the latest escalation showed “that the annexation of Crimea…
is also a problem for the security of us all in Europe”.
He repeated Berlin’s call for Russia to release the seized ships and
sailors “as soon as possible”.
“Both sides must now do their part for deescalation,” he added.
The United States and EU have already imposed sanctions on Russia over
the Ukraine conflict.
Ukraine’s Western allies have accused Russia of using force without
justification in the naval confrontation, while Kiev urged its partners to
impose further sanctions on Moscow.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1759 hrs