Britain, France and Germany yesterday were hoping to persuade the EU to condemn Russia’s devastating air campaign in Syria and pave the way for imposing more sanctions on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The bloc also planned to continue pushing for humanitarian aid to reach the besieged city of Aleppo.
Struggling to help end Syria’s war, the EU is stepping up efforts to support the US in its bid to stop the bombing of eastern Aleppo, where 275,000 people are trapped, but it is split over strategy toward Russia, its biggest energy supplier.
Photo: Reuters
However, the EU is not considering sanctions against Russia for its role in Syria, although further measures against its ally Damascus are possible, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said.
“This has not been proposed by any member state, but we have sanctions on the Syrian regime ... and there are discussions on that, for sure, [expanding] that could be possible,” Mogherini said as she arrived for the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“It is vital that we keep that pressure up,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said following his meeting in London on Sunday with US Secretary of State John Kerry, before heading to Luxembourg for the EU meeting.
“There are a lot of measures we’re proposing to do with extra sanctions on the Syrian regime and their supporters, measures to bring those responsible for war crimes to the International Criminal Court,” Johnson said.
The US is also considering additional sanctions.
A draft of the diplomatic statement to be delivered yesterday said that EU ministers were to condemn the “catastrophic escalation” of the Syrian government offensive to capture the eastern zone of Aleppo, where 8,000 rebels are still holding out against Syrian, Russian and Iranian-backed forces.
It said that airstrikes on hospitals and civilians “may amount to war crimes,” calling on “Syria and its allies” to go to the International Criminal Court, according to a draft seen by reporters that was still under discussion.
Diplomats said the EU was to call for a ceasefire with an observation mission, a renewed push for peace talks to include Mogherini and immediate access for an EU aid package announced on Oct. 2.
Britain and France, with the support of Germany, want to go further, pushing for economic sanctions on about 20 Syrians suspected of directing attacks on civilians.
They would be added to the EU’s existing sanctions list of about 200 Syrians.
Sanctions already include an oil and arms embargo, as well as a prohibition on dealing with the Syrian central bank.
Paris and London on Thursday might push other EU leaders to consider travel bans and asset freezes on as many as 12 Russians involved in the Syrian conflict.
However, that was not on yesterday’s agenda and might be too much for Russia’s closest EU allies, such as Greece, Cyprus and Hungary.
They are worried about angering the Kremlin with talk of sanctions and putting peace talks further out of reach.
“Some governments are cautious about being tough on Russia, but equally, they know that the EU is at risk of being seen to be doing nothing,” an EU diplomat said.
Any new measures must be agreed by all 28 EU governments.
Additional reporting by AFP
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