Leaders of the European Union have encouraged Russia to resume peace talks with Ukraine and have reiterated their threat to impose unprecedented sanctions on Moscow in collaboration with the United States and the United Kingdom if Russian armed forces cross the border.
Russia said it had provided the US draft documents describing security arrangements that it intended to negotiate with Washington and NATO allies, prompting the EU’s request for a return to the negotiating table.
According to US intelligence officials, Russia has relocated 70,000 troops and is preparing for an invasion early next year.Moscow has denied that it has any plans to attack, as it did in 2014 when it annexed the Crimean Peninsula, but says it wants guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO.
In a statement in Brussels, the EU leaders underlined “the urgent need for Russia to de-escalate tensions caused by the military buildup along its border with Ukraine and aggressive rhetoric.” They pledged their “full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The leaders repeated a message sent from the U.S., Britain and the Group of Seven (G-7) industrial nations in recent weeks that “any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe cost in response, including restrictive measures coordinated with partners.”
While Western allies rejected Russia’s attempt to derail Kyiv’s NATO ambitions on Thursday, the military alliance used similar language, refuting “false Russian claims of Ukrainian and NATO provocations” and urging Moscow to “immediately de-escalate, pursue diplomatic channels, and abide by its international commitments.”
The EU leaders agreed to extend existing economic sanctions against Russia for another six months in response to its takeover of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula, in 2014. While attempting to reach out to Moscow to ease the situation, the US has used similar language of “massive” reaction in the event of a Russian invasion.
Russia has been labeled a “aggressor” by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, attended a previous summit with EU leaders on Wednesday and stated that the majority of them supported Ukraine’s stance in the crisis. He is, however, dissatisfied that European powers, in particular, have declined to take preemptive action against Russia, preferring instead to warn retaliation if Russia acts aggressively.
The EU is divided on when to impose further sanctions on Moscow. France and Germany want to hold fire, expressing concern that such action could spark an attack and hoping for a diplomatic solution. Both leaders emphasized the significance of restarting the Normandy talks, which have made little progress this year.
Countries on the EU’s eastern flank closer to Russia believe sanctions would work best as a deterrent and should be imposed immediately.
Ukraine’s president wants more sanctions to be imposed before – instead of after – any possible incursion, but his plea has fallen on deaf ears.
The EU should not underestimate the threat posed by the troop buildup, according to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, whose nation borders Russia. He cautioned that Moscow’s activities are causing one of the most dangerous security scenarios since the Soviet Union’s demise.
EU lawmakers said in a resolution that “any new sanctions package should include the Russian officer corps and flag officers involved in the planning of a possible invasion, as well as the immediate circle and oligarchs ‘in the orbit of the Russian President and their families.’”
