European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels to coordinate a response consisting of a new round of economic sanctions against Moscow if it launches a new military invasion of Ukraine amid a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near the border.
As he arrived for the December 13 meeting, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said no decisions over sanctions against Russia would be taken but that the ministers will discuss what measures to take, in coordination with the United States and Britain.
EU diplomats told Reuters that discussions were focused on a potential gradual increase of sanctions, ranging from possible travel bans and asset freezes on Russian politicians to banning financial and banking links with Russia.
Measures against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany to prevent it from becoming operational were also an option, as well as targeting more Russian state-owned defense and energy companies or canceling natural-gas contracts, the diplomats said.
“We are in deterrent mode,” Borrell told reporters, amid a buildup of Russian troops in regions bordering on Ukraine that has triggered alarm in Western capitals.
The EU has already imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia over its forcible seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region in March 2014 and over Moscow’s backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine in an ongoing conflict that has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014.
In recent weeks, Kyiv and its Western backers have accused Russia of massing troops near Ukraine as a possible prelude to an invasion as early as next month – something the Kremlin denies.
“In any case, we will send a clear signal that any aggression against Ukraine will have a high cost for Russia,” Borrell said on December 13, adding that the 27-country bloc was “studying together with the U.S. and the U.K. what [sanctions] could be, when and how, in a coordinated manner.”
“We are convinced that Russia is actually preparing for all-out war against Ukraine,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, adding: “If it’s an unprecedented attack…that means that the answer has to be unprecedented from the Western countries, as well.”
On December 12, the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialized nations — Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Canada, and Japan — warned Moscow of “massive consequences” and “severe” costs if it attacked Ukraine.
Russian officials deny Moscow is preparing any offensive, accuses Kyiv of provocation, and insists Russia has the right to move its forces anywhere it wants within the country.
Moscow has demanded legally binding security guarantees that NATO will not expand further east or place its weapons close to Russian territory.
Deputy Foreign Ministry Sergei Ryabkov appeared to push the Russian position even further on December 13, warning that there would be a confrontation if the United States and NATO don’t give the guarantees Moscow seeks.
U.S. and NATO officials have said that no country can veto the NATO aspirations of any country.
The United States and Eastern European members of the EU have opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which bypasses Ukraine. They say it will make Europe dependent on Russian gas deliveries and exposes the bloc to pressure from Moscow.
Germany’s new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the German broadcaster ZDF on December 12 that under an agreement between Berlin and Washington the Nord Stream 2 project would be halted if Russia escalates its actions against Ukraine.
“In the event of further escalation, this gas pipeline could not come into service,” Baerbock said after the G7 meeting in Britain.
The ministers are also expected to approve a list of names and companies associated with Russia’s private military company Wagner to be added immediately to existing sanctions regimes.
The EU foreign ministers meeting will be followed by a summit of the leaders of member states with their counterparts from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova on December 15.
A summit of EU leaders will also take place the next day.
