MOSCOW/BRUSSELS: Russia urged the European Union yesterday to lift sanctions against Moscow and promised to waive its food embargo, but a top EU official rejected such a move as the bloc imposed fresh measures on Ukrainian rebels.
The European Union and the United States imposed economic sanctions on Russia in late July, targeting the Russian energy, banking and defence sectors to punish Moscow’s support for rebels in eastern Ukraine, the West’s toughest steps yet.
In retaliation, Moscow has banned most Western food imports, worth $9bn a year.
“We don’t expect anything from our European partners. The only thing we expect is for them to leave the meaningless sanctions spiral and move onto the path of lifting the sanctions and dropping the blacklists,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Alexei Meshkov, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
“This, in turn, would allow us to drop our lists.”
The gesture from Moscow came as the European Union imposed sanctions on 13 Ukrainians accused of organising rogue elections in eastern Ukraine on November 2, hitting the separatists and their organisations with asset freezes and travel bans.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the new president of the European Commission, said Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in March left Europe with two options: go to war against Russia or impose economic sanctions.
“If you don’t want a war the only possibility is sanctions ... You have to take sanctions that produce an effect,” Juncker told RTL radio in Luxembourg, his home country.
“One has to maintain those sanctions as long as, on the ground, we do not see Russian gestures aimed at pacifying the region,” he said, referring to Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said lower oil prices and Western financial sanctions will cost Russia around $130bn-$140bn a year, equivalent to around seven percent of its economy.
Meshkov put the losses from sanctions for the EU at $50bn next year, adding that trade turnover in some products between Russia and Europe had declined by double digit percentages.
A report this month showed that European exports to Russia fell almost 20 percent in August compared to July because of the sanctions.
Juncker warned that more measures could come if Moscow did not take steps to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
EU officials say that the vote by rebels in eastern Ukraine was encouraged by Russia to undermine Kiev’s sovereignty.
Rebels argued the November 2 vote was the next step after local referendums in May calling for independence from Ukraine.
In its official journal, the European Union said Sergey Kozyakov, who was election commission chief in the Luhansk region “has actively supported actions and policies which undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”. Others on the sanctions list are election organisers and separatist ministers in Luhansk and in the eastern region of Donetsk.REUTERS
