The European Union called on Russia on Monday to defuse tensions over Ukraine and reaffirmed that Moscow would face "massive" consequences if it attacked its neighbour.
Summary
- The EU’s 27 foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, said the bloc “condemns Russia’s continued aggressive actions and threats against Ukraine and calls on Russia to de-escalate.”
- Denmark said the EU would be ready to impose “never-seen-before” economic sanctions on Russia.
- The European Commission, the EU executive body, proposed a 1.2-billion euro ($1.36-billion) financial aid package for Ukraine L8N2U42SZ, but there are differences among EU member states about how hard to be on Russia.
- Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis suggested Russia wanted to “splinter the West” and that the EU could not afford to be divided.
- The EU, along with the United States, imposed economic sanctions on Moscow targeting its energy, banking and defence sectors after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.