Ukraine Crisis: EU Hits Back At Putin’s Russia With First Round Of Sanctions – The HuffPost

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Sarah Meyssonnier via Reuters

Josep Borrell and Jean-Yves Le Drian, February 22, 2022 in Paris.

INTERNATIONAL – Faced with Vladimir Putin’s decision to recognize separatist territories in easternUkraine, the European Union is trying to speak with one voice. The Twenty-Seven Member States approved, this Tuesday, February 22, “a package of sanctions” against the Russia. Enough to make the Russian president back down?

“We agreed unanimously on a first package of sanctions”, announced the head of French diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian, following the meeting of the 27 Foreign Ministers in Paris. Guest of the France 2 newscast, the minister explained that “the important thing was also to be united, not only with the Twenty-Seven but also the United States, Canada and Japan”.

The sanctions decided on Tuesday will have to be formally adopted in Parliament to enter into force, but the head of EU diplomacy is already warning that they “will hurt Russia very much”.

Asset freeze and visa ban

The 27 decided that the 351 Russian deputies of the Duma, who approved the recognition of the independence of the separatist territories, will have their assets frozen. They will also be subject to visa bans.

“The sanctions will also target 27 individuals and entities that contribute to undermining or threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine, its sovereignty and its independence”, detailed Josep Borrell, referring to “those actors in the defense sector who play a role in the invasion” of the country. “Those who launched a campaign of disinformation against Ukraine” and “banks that finance Russian officials and other operations in these territories” separatists, he continued.

The economic sector hit

The EU also intends to target “economic relations between the two regions and the European Union”, and finally “the ability of the Russian state and its government to access our financial market and European capital markets to refinance their debt,” added Josep Borrell.

According to Olivier Dorgans, a lawyer specializing in economic sanctions at the firm Ashurst, interviewed by AFP, the future increased difficulties for the Russian state to access European capital markets could weigh on the value of the ruble, and by extension on the power. of purchases by Russian consumers for imported products.

Suspension of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline

At the same time, Josep Borrell recalled that Germany ended up giving in on Tuesday in suspending the Nord Stream 2 gas pipelinea flagship project for Berlin as for Vladimir Putin for a long time carried out despite criticism.

It was Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor, who himself announced the cessation of this pharaonic construction site, by suspending the certification of the gas pipeline, essential for “its commissioning”. A decision that delighted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “Morally, politically and in a practical way this was the decision to make,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

No “miraculous effects”

Josep Borrell however conceded that “the sanctions do not have miraculous effects” but felt that “it hurts economically and it hurts the people affected”. The head of diplomacy underlines that the member countries of the EU had decided to keep “other ammunition […] to respond to new actions on the part of Russia”, because “the story is not over”.

“This firmness always leaves the door open to diplomacy”, argued Jean-Yves Le Drian, while noting that “all diplomatic efforts […] have hit a wall” in recent weeks. “President Putin no longer honors Russia’s signature,” he lamented, adding that the meeting scheduled for Friday in Paris with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had been cancelled.

In this case, President Macron, criticized by the opposition in France for his unsuccessful mediation, “assumed his responsibilities”, added Jean-Yves Le Drian. “He did his duty to do everything to avoid war,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, referring to “the cynicism of Vladimir Putin”. “The situation is extremely worrying”, hammered Jean-Yves Le Drian on France 2, fearing that “Vladimir Poutine does not stop there”.

“Hit Russia very hard”

However, these sanctions “do not yet go where the shoe pinches, it is a coherent step in relation to the defense of European economic interests”, believes Olivier Dorgans.

For its part, the United Kingdom, which left the EU, decided to sanction three oligarchs close to the Kremlin and five Russian banks to “hit Russia very hard”. London also says it is ready to go further in the event of a new military escalation. But for Olivier Dorgans, the targeted banks “are relatively minor”. He also recalls that many Russian capitals outside the country have already been repatriated as a preventive measure.

During a telephone conversation during the course between Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron, “the leaders agreed on the need to continue to work together to target Russian individuals and entities financing President Putin’s aggressive approach” in Ukraine, said a spokesperson in a statement.

See also on the HuffPost: In Ukraine, armored vehicles enter Donetsk after Putin’s statements