On 22 February 2022, at an informal meeting of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council, a political decision was achieved on a sanctions package targeting Russia in relation to its recognition of independence of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk. This is but the first step to be followed up by further work on the broadening of sanctions, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, underlined during the meeting.
The Extraordinary Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers was held in Paris, France, in response to decisions adopted on the part of Russia in the past few days. The decision made at the EU Foreign Affairs Council today is a political agreement to be followed by legal procedures for approving the sanctions. The sanctions package includes personalised sanctions targeting Russian politicians and officials, various Russian banks, the elements of Russia’s financial sector, and a ban on trade with the so-called DPR and LPR.
Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed an opinion that the sanctions package must be stronger, while the EU must provide a clear and immediate response to the decisions taken by Russia. At this point, everything is indicative of Russia continuing to turn against Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. According to the Latvian Foreign Minister, in light of that, the EU should begin work on the next package of restrictive measures as early as now, to expand the scope and areas of restrictions, also envisaging, for example, restrictions on export.
The Minister expressed support for Germany’s decision to suspend the certification of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, while he rated that measure as a very strong response by Germany to Russia’s crackdown on Ukraine.
The Latvian Foreign Minister also underlined that it was vital for the EU to continue close coordination with partner countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. Edgars Rinkēvičs noted that alongside the expansion of restrictive measures on Russia, it was no less important that provision of support for Ukraine continues through strengthening its resilience. Edgars Rinkēvičs suggested to his EU colleagues that an informal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council be held in Kyiv thereby expressing their solidarity with Ukraine.