EU chief warns of sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine

BRUSSELS • The European Union is ready to impose sanctions with a "massive cost" for Russia if the Russian military invades Ukraine, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said.

"Let there be no doubt. If Russia were to move against Ukraine, the union will be in a position to take sanctions that could extract a massive cost. We have done our work in that respect," Ms von der Leyen told a news conference yesterday following a summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

EU leaders at the meeting on Thursday insisted on "the urgent need for Russia to de-escalate tensions caused by the military build-up along its border with Ukraine and aggressive rhetoric".

They agreed at the summit to impose further economic sanctions on Russia - in tandem with the United States and Britain - if the Russian military invaded Ukraine, although they encouraged more diplomacy with Moscow.

Baltic, central and eastern European states believe the bloc itself is also under assault from Russia on multiple fronts, with Lithuania citing a risk of possible Russian military strikes from Belarus, a close Russian ally.

"Any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe cost in response, including restrictive measures coordinated with partners," the leaders said in their final summit statement, referring to the US and Britain.

The West imposed economic sanctions on Russia in 2014 over its annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, with measures targeting Russia's energy, banking and defence sectors.

Although no sanctions were debated at the summit, diplomats have said new measures could include targeting Russian oligarchs, banning EU transactions with private Russian banks and possibly cutting all Russian banks from the Swift network that is the lifeblood of international money transfers.

Swift is the global provider of secure financial messaging service.

EU leaders said the bloc "encourages diplomatic efforts and supports the Normandy format in achieving the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements", referring to 2014-2015 peace deals agreed with Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia.

Washington says Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's borders, possibly for an invasion.

Russia says it is responding to what it sees as threats to its own security from Ukraine's increasingly close relations with Nato and aspirations to join the alliance.

Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that there were Russian "combat-ready troops, tanks, artillery, armoured units, drones (and) electronic warfare systems" on Ukraine's border.

Russia yesterday published its security proposals addressed to Nato and the US and called for urgent talks with Washington.

The far-reaching proposals, which Russia says are an essential requirement for lowering tensions in Europe and defusing the crisis over Ukraine, say Nato must not allow any new members to the US-led military alliance, and call for no new military bases to be established in former Soviet countries.

The clause comes in the wake of Russia's demand - which the West has already ruled out - that Nato withdraw a commitment to hand membership to Georgia and Ukraine, two former Soviet states.

At a briefing with journalists following the publication of the drafts, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia was ready to hold urgent security talks with the US "as early as" today.

"We are ready to immediately, even tomorrow - literally tomorrow, on Saturday - to go for talks with the US in a third country," he said, noting that "Geneva was suggested to the Americans".

But the demand was rebuffed by the US, which refused to negotiate without Europe's input.

"There will be no talks on European security without our European allies and partners," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on board Air Force One, the US presidential aircraft.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE