EU decides on further Russia sanctions

European Union Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton says a decision on further sanctions against Russia over Ukraine will be made by EU leaders in Brussels on Saturday evening.

Ukraine’s crisis dominated a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Milan, which wrapped up on Saturday.

“All ministers expressed deep concern about the recent aggression by regular Russian forces,” said Ashton at the end of the informal talks, adding, “They (ministers) were very clear that there is no military solution. We need a sustainable political solution that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. “

The foreign ministers did not make any decision on the scope of any further sanctions;  however, EU officials said there was near unanimous acknowledgement of the need to send a strong message to Russia over Ukraine’s crisis.

This comes after NATO claimed more than 1,000 Russian troops are inside southeastern Ukraine, helping pro-Moscow forces.

The West and Russia have been at loggerheads over the political situation in Ukraine since pro-Western forces toppled Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, in February 2014.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations to silence the pro-Russians in mid-April.

The political unrest in eastern Ukraine has so far claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people, according to figures released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

RSR/AB