Germany has halted the approval of the Nord 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government have decided to “reassess” the certification amid the latest developments.
According to the Europe’s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, Foreign Ministers from the EU are locked in meetings on Tuesday to discuss what sanctions to impose against Russia as they have now invaded Ukraine.
Borrell said, “We must act quickly … that means this afternoon.”
The Irish EU Affairs Minister Thomas Byrne said, “We’ve got to ensure that whatever happens, Russia will feel the pain … to make sure Russia has absolutely no incentive to go further.”
A senior EU diplomat said there was “a whole escalation ladder, starting with Russian individuals and moving up to finance, trade, and eventually energy,” adding, “A lot is possible.”
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said Vladimir Putin has broken international law and Russia will be hit with their “first barrage” of sanctions.
Johnson said in a phone call with Ukraine’s President, “he would explore sending further defensive support to Ukraine, at the request of the Ukrainian government.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “the moment that other countries put in place strong and severe sanctions on Russia, we will be in lockstep with them and we will be moving just as quickly.”
The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government will discuss “severe actions” against Russia.
The US President Joe Biden has signed an exucitive order which will not allow “new investment, trade, and financing by US persons to, from, or in” the donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine.
The executive order will “also provide authority to impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in those areas of Ukraine.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “Our European, American, British colleagues will not stop and will not calm down until they have exhausted all their possibilities for the so-called ‘punishment of Russia’.
“They are already threatening us with all manner of sanctions or, as they say now, ‘the mother of all sanctions’.
“Well, we’re used to it. We know that sanctions will be imposed anyway, in any case. With or without reason.”
Leave a Comment