Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba proposed a step-by-step plan to “contain Russia” to the foreign ministers of the European Union (EU).
“At the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers, the EU informed its colleagues about the dangerous course of the Russian Federation for aggravation. I proposed a step-by-step action plan to contain the further escalation of the Russian Federation. Key element: preparation of a new sectoral sanctions package. Personal is not enough anymore, ”he tweeted on Monday, April 19.
Earlier that day, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced the escalation of tensions in various directions in relations between the European Union and Russia.
On April 15, US President Joe Biden introduced new sanctions against Russia. The restrictions affected 32 legal entities and individuals from the Russian Federation, who, according to the US presidential administration, “made attempts to influence the US presidential elections in 2020, as well as for other acts of disinformation and interference.
NATO issued a statement in which it supported the US sanctions against the Russian Federation. Following NATO, the EU expressed solidarity with the United States.
On April 16, Russia imposed countermeasures in response to new US sanctions. As noted by the vice-speaker of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev, Moscow responded to the US anti-Russian sanctions promptly, extremely concretely and harshly.
On April 8, the head of the EU Delegation in Moscow, Markus Ederer, said that relations between the European Union and Russia had “reached bottom”, including with regard to the situation in Donbass.
Relations between the Russian Federation and the West deteriorated after the coup in Ukraine in 2014 and the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation. At the same time, Kiev launched a military operation against the residents of Donbass. The Ukrainian authorities, the US and the EU, as well as a number of other countries blamed Russia for the situation and imposed sanctions. Moscow has repeatedly noted that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and called on Kiev to de-escalate.