Originally Posted by
Insuperable
Russian oligarchs seem to be quite mad about this situation. They are already losing lots of money or will lose money. Putin asks them to cooperate with the government.
for one time i will join josep borell ,ouch! 351 members of the Duma on 450 assembly members,not sure than all the duma will sustain Putin after that,but WE SHALL ALL VERY SPOOKED AND FRIGHTENED,ESPECIALLY FOR EUROPEAN CITIZENS, BECAUSE A WAR FOR ANY REASONS IS NOT SOMETHING TO JOKE AROUND
Last Updated: 23rd February, 2022 20:31 IST 'Will hurt a lot' | Josep Borrell Avers EU Will Sanction 351 Russian Duma Lawmakers
"The [EU] sanctions will hurt Russia a lot," Josep Borrell said, adding they target asset freezes and visa bans of 351 members of Russian Duma
Written By
Zaini Majeed
IMAGE: AP
EU on Wednesday announced that it is poised to impose a sanctions package that will target Russian banks and top oligarchs over the latter’s recognition of Ukrainian separatist regions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, in a statement said, that EU sanctions against Moscow have been "unanimously agreed to" by the bloc's top diplomats including EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell. EU’s economic sanctions and penalties "will hurt Russia, and it will hurt a lot,” said Borrell, deriding Russian leader Putin’s decrees that mobilised troops into the breakaway provinces inside eastern Ukraine.
Russia's 351 lawmakers 'violated international law': EU
As many as 351 Russian lawmakers voted in favour of the recognition of the separatist region of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Russian Duma. EU's initial set of sanctions is expected to target those involved in this decision-making. Speaking to reporters after the Paris meeting of top diplomats, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian accused Russia of “violating international law” and “breaching its commitments,” according to a press document shared by the Central European Initiative (CEI) on Wednesday.
EU's listings include 27 individuals and entities “who are playing a role in undermining or threatening Ukrainian territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence”, which includes Russian military, economic operators, disinformation exponents. EU's sanctions on Russian lawmakers would imply that they will be banned to enter or transit through EU territories and will be unable to trade in Europe the Russian state bonds. Sanctions will also dismantle Russia's access to the EU’s capital and financial markets. The two breakaway regions will be banned from the free trade deals between the EU and Ukraine.
READ | China's Weibo propagating pro-Russian narratives on Russia-Ukraine conflict EU officials called the package a “first step" as they warned Russia "this story has not finished."
EU sanctions against Russia will target its parliament members who backed recognising breakaway regions as independent and will inflict severe damage on the country, the EU's foreign policy chief said. The package was coordinated with the US, the UK, and Canada, she informed.
READ | Russia orders evacuation of its diplomats from Ukraine, cites 'threat to their lives' "The [EU] sanctions will hurt Russia a lot," Josep Borrell told reporters, adding the sanctions target asset freezes and visa bans of the 351 members of the Russian Duma's lower house who appealed to President Vladimir Putin to recognize the two regions as independent.
EU’s foreign ministers met in Brussels, as the Russian president Vladimir Putin presided powerful national security council meeting in Moscow. Senior administration officials from Putin’s cabinet, including his spy chief, were called on stage to vote for the declaration of independence of the two rebel-held areas of Ukraine. “Those who took the path of violence, bloodshed, and lawlessness did not recognize and don’t recognize any other solution to the Donbas problem besides the military,” Putin said in a fiery televised speech, that aired for roughly an hour.
READ | Germany: Economy Min claims country can meet its energy demands without Russian gas supply
“I believe it is necessary to take a long-overdue decision to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic,” asserted the Russian leader. A large-scale evacuation of civilians, including women and children, was strategically carried out ahead of Putin’s signing of the decrees that mobilized the Russian troops into the Ukrainian territories. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a state address, called for tough sanctions against Moscow as he informed that he had ordered his troops to show restraint in the face of Russian aggression.
READ | Taiwan condemns Russia's decision recognising independence of Ukraine's breakaway regions
Ukrainian leader in state TV address: 'Ordered Ukrainian troops to show restraint'
As Russia declared breakaway oblasts as independent nations, EU’s chief Borrell told reporters in he will convene an extraordinary EU foreign affairs ministers meeting to “present the sanctions at the right moment”, which will be approved in a written procedure. “If there is annexation, there will be sanctions, and if there is a recognition I will put the sanctions on the table and the ministers will decide,” Borrell said. “We call on President Putin to respect international law (…) We are ready to react with a strong united front in case he should decide” to ignore these calls,” he had warned.
EU asserted that Russia de-facto nullified the 2015 Minsk peace accords and has torpedoed all diplomatic channels to avert a war. Europe then sat down a meeting to hit Russia with ‘clear and fast sanctions’ in retaliation to Moscow’s “illegal act” of recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk.
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