Russia finds few friends in EU sanctions talks

Even Russia’s friends, for the most part, showed little appetite for relaxing sanctions in “strategic” EU talks in Brussels on Monday (19 January).

Summing up the debate, EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini i told press there was a “consensus” they should stay in place until Russia pulls back from east Ukraine.

She said ministers were happy to talk to Russia on “global” issues, such as counter-terrorism or climate change.

But with fighting flaring up in Ukraine and with Kiev reporting that two battalions of Russian troops invaded its territory as the ministers were meeting in the EU capital, she added that “the latest developments on the ground are not encouraging, rather the contrary” in terms of EU-Russia ties.

“There is no normalisation. There is no back to business as usual”.

The Czech Republic, Germany’s foreign minister, and Hungary - which had criticised EU sanctions in recent months - sent out similar messages.

Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "Given the current situation in east Ukraine, nobody expressed the desire to loosen some of the Russia sanctions”.

Hungary’s Peter Szijjarto added that Russia has done nothing to comply with last year's so-called Minsk peace deal. “Without it, there can be no positive change”, he said.

Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, who in December said the EU should “re-engage” with Russia, devoted his press comments to counter-terrorism.

Austria, Luxembourg, and Spain spoke more softly on Russia but stopped short of calling for a sanctions roll-back.

Austria said the EU should start thinking “how to put the relationship with Russia back on a solid footing in the long-term”.

Luxembourg noted the EU must show Moscow the sanctions are not meant to “destabilise” Russia, while Spain said the EU should separate its sanctions in two - on the annexation of Crimea (to stay in place) and on east Ukraine (to change in line with the situation).

The thrust of the debate saw the more hawkish EU states claim vindication.

Poland’s foreign minister, Grzegorz Schetyna, told media: “No one said sanctions should be reduced, suspended, or removed. There was no such voice. The most was that our policy on Russia should not be based only on sanctions. Those were the softest comments”.

Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK backed up his assessment.

“We need to maintain a disciplined position in the face of continued Russian refusal to deliver on their commitments”, the UK’s Philip Hammond noted.

Bulgaria contradicted Spain on Crimea, saying “it cannot be excluded from the sanction formula”, while Ireland said the sanctions should be “kept under review and, if need be, augmented and intensified”.

The discussion came in the light of a Mogherini options paper which proposed not just lifting the punitive measures if things improve but also returning to the full gamut of EU-Russia meetings.

But the fact the paper was leaked to the Wall Street Journal before EU capitals got a chance to read it harmed its standing.

Poland’s Schetyna said the leak was “incredible”.

“The [Mogherini] paper was totally different to the nature of the discussion today. I don’t think we would have had such a tough response if it hadn’t come out in that way”.

Steinmeier also distanced himself from the Mogherini blueprint, saying the mood was different in December when she was tasked with drawing it up.

Meanwhile, the hawkish states got a warm reception for plans to launch EU efforts to counter Russian propaganda.

Mogherini said she will “come with some concrete steps in the next few weeks”.

She said this could be in the form of EU-funded Russian-language broadcasts or a Brussels-based "task-force" to support independent Russian media.

Poland said “more than a dozen” countries spoke up in favour.

The Dutch FM, Bert Koenders i, described Russian state media’s coverage of the crisis as “horrible”.

“It’s very important we support independent Russian press and independent Russian voices”, he said.

The decision on whether to renew the Russia sanctions for another year will be taken by leaders at a summit in March.

Monday’s bad news for Moscow comes amid an ever-worsening economic situation caused by the slump in oil prices.

Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s over the weekend downgraded Russian bonds to one notch above junk while the EBRD, an international lender, forecast its GDP to shrink by 5 percent this year.

With oil currently trading at less than $50 a barrel - a six-year low - Vagit Alekperov, the CEO of Russian oil firm Lukoil on Monday also told the Ria Novosti news agency it "could fall to $25” in the near future.