EC's Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen: "The sanctions package can be extended or stopped, depending on developments in the field"
The
EU says new sanctions against Russia should be adopted shortly and take
effect on Tuesday, despite a Kremlin warning of retaliation.
But an EU spokeswoman said the sanctions would be "reversible", depending on the situation in Ukraine.
Pro-Russian rebels and government troops are observing a fragile truce.
Major state-owned oil firms including Rosneft are on the new
EU list, but gas is not affected, diplomats say. US sanctions already
target Rosneft.
Russia has warned that it could block international flights
through its airspace if the EU goes ahead with new measures over the
Ukraine conflict.
The pro-Russian separatists have recently made big gains in
eastern Ukraine. But a ceasefire agreed on Friday appears to be holding
despite some sporadic shooting.
Fighting in the east has killed some 2,600 people since April.
Russia has repeatedly denied accusations by Ukraine and the
West that it has been sending troops into Donetsk and Luhansk regions to
help the rebels, who want to establish an independent state.
Donetsk airport has been the scene of constant battles between rebels and government forces
Oil firms targeted
A European Commission spokeswoman said the new sanctions
package targeting Russian firms and officials "is due to be formally
adopted by member states through a written procedure later today, so the
procedure is ongoing".
"It will then be published in the official journal of the EU,
which should happen in the course of tomorrow at the latest as plans
currently stand," she said.
The BBC's Fergal Keane in Mariupol: "People fear the war is coming to them"
Publication in the journal puts the sanctions into effect.
Diplomats say the new package will target Russian oil
companies Rosneft and Transneft and the petroleum unit of state gas
monopoly Gazprom.
Their access to financial markets will be restricted - a serious matter for Rosneft, which last month
asked the Russian government for a $42bn (£25.2bn) loan.
The sanctions would also expand the
visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials and entities, including separatist leaders in Ukraine.
A building in Mariupol witnesses said was hit at the weekend
Earlier Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Moscow would respond "asymmetrically" to further sanctions.
A Russian airspace ban "could drive many struggling airlines into bankruptcy", he told a Russian daily.
"If there are sanctions related to the energy sector, or
further restrictions on Russia's financial sector, we will have to
respond asymmetrically... For example, restrictions in the transport
sector.
"We work on the basis of friendly relations with our
partners, and that's why Russia's skies are open to flights. But if we
are restricted then we'll have to respond,"
he told Vedomosti (in Russian).
Airlines would have to pay far more for fuel if Russia
blocked their routes to Asian destinations, and flight times would be
longer in many cases.
Last week an EU official told the BBC that further sanctions
would deepen the existing measures, affecting Russia's access to capital
markets, dual-use goods which can be used for military purposes,
defence equipment and some other sensitive technologies.
Richard Galpin in Donetsk: "We've heard the sound of quite a number of mortars being fired"
The Ukrainian authorities in Donetsk region say President Petro Poroshenko is expected to visit Mariupol on Monday.
It is the last city in Donetsk region still held by the
Ukrainian government and some shelling was reported there at the
weekend. It is a strategic port on the route to Crimea, the peninsula
annexed by Russia in March.
There was also some fresh shelling near Donetsk airport. The
rebels are still holding the city, and have pushed back Ukrainian forces
on the outskirts.
On Sunday, Ukrainian security official Volodymyr Poliovyi said 864 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the conflict began.
So far there have been no big prisoner exchanges since the ceasefire took effect.
12-point peace roadmap - key elements
- Ensure an immediate bilateral ceasefire
- Carry out decentralisation of power, allowing temporary local
self-government in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine under
a "special status" law
- Immediately free all hostages and illegally detained persons
- Ensure monitoring on the Ukrainian-Russian border and a security zone
- Ensure the holding of snap local elections in Donetsk and Luhansk
- Remove illegal armed groups, military hardware, and all fighters and mercenaries from Ukrainian territory
- Pass a law against the prosecution and punishment of people over certain events in Donetsk and Luhansk region
Posted by the OSCE
on its website (in Russian).
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