Any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will have “massive consequences and high costs”, say the heads of state and government of the EU.
The EU threatens Russia with retaliation in the event of an attack on Ukraine. At their summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government adopted a declaration to this effect. It states that Russia urgently needs to defuse the tensions caused by the troop deployment on the border with Ukraine and aggressive rhetoric. Any further military aggression would have “massive consequences and high costs”.
Sanctions coordinated with partners were cited as an example. The EU fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The other heads of state and government left open which sanctions could be involved. According to diplomats, sanctions against state companies and oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin are being discussed. In addition, an operating ban for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany and the exclusion of Russia from the Swift payment system are options.
The latter in particular could have far-reaching consequences, as Swift processes messages and financial transactions for more than 11,000 financial institutions worldwide via secure networks. If banks are no longer able to use Swift, this can have fatal consequences for their business, as it will virtually exclude them from the global financial system.
In view of the deployment of Russian troops, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the inviolability of Europe’s borders as “one of the most important foundations of peace”. One will “do everything to ensure that this invulnerability actually remains”. To avoid war, Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron secured support for mediation efforts at the EU summit. The statement said that diplomatic efforts are being encouraged to achieve full implementation of the 2015 Minsk Agreement, particularly in the so-called Normandy format. Deterrence and dialogue is therefore the motto of the hour.
“The opposite is the case: it goes on”
In the “Normandy Format”, Germany and France have been trying to mediate between Ukraine and Russia for years. Recently, however, there has been little progress. Both sides accuse themselves of not keeping agreements. A plan to resolve the conflict had been negotiated in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. It still supports separatists in eastern Ukraine to this day.
The findings that Russia has concentrated tens of thousands of soldiers in areas not far from Ukraine are of particular concern at the moment. According to information from NATO circles, it was last between 75,000 and 100,000. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on the sidelines of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj that there were no signs that the military build-up would stop or slow down. “The opposite is the case: it goes on.”
(APA/dpa)