EU "Foreign Ministers Meeting Today... Decision on 'Russia Sanctions'"

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) member states are set to decide on sanctions against Russia.

According to major foreign media including the AP on the 22nd (local time), Josep Borrell, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced that foreign ministers of member states will hold an emergency meeting in Paris in the afternoon to make a decision on sanctions.

He stated, "Naturally, our response will take the form of sanctions. The scale will be decided by the ministers," adding that the goal will not be to impose the entire set of sanctions prepared by the EU in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but rather to address the recognition of independence of the DPR and LPR.

Borrell expressed confidence that a unanimous decision necessary for such measures will be reached and expected the decision to be made in the afternoon. "Russian troops have entered Donbas. We consider Donbas as part of Ukraine," he said, while also noting, "I would not call this a full-scale invasion. However, Russian troops are on Ukrainian territory."

In this regard, it is suggested that the first step may involve sanctions against individuals involved in the recognition of independence of the DPR and LPR. This is a limited but relatively swift measure that can be decided.

However, broader sanctions related to defense or finance and agreement on the circumstances under which such sanctions will be imposed are expected to take more time. It is also possible that an EU summit will need to be convened for this purpose.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Ministry of Defense to dispatch Russian troops to the separatist republics in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine to carry out peacekeeping duties.

President Putin instructed, "Regarding the request from the head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Ministry of Defense is to use Russian troops to perform peacekeeping functions in the DPR until a 'Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance' is concluded," and issued the same order to his Ministry of Defense through the decree recognizing the independence of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.