New European Union sanctions against Russia
will be launched already tomorrow, three EU officials said. At the same time the EU also will express its conditions
for eventually suspending the measures.
After many days of debating, representatives of the 28 EU governments agreed to implement plans to hit some Russian state-owned defense and energy companies from raising capital in the bloc, the officials said in Brussels, expressing desire to stay anonymous.
Some EU countries had argued that proceeding with the restrictions now would provoke the Kremlin to give up with the fragile cease-fire in Eastern Ukraine and respond with similar sanctions. An EU statement later today will spell out what Russia needs to do to get the curbs lifted, the officials said.
On September 5 the EU governments voted for the sanctions, while laying bare the bloc’s divisions over Russia by putting the curbs on hold as the cease-fire between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists took effect.
