The European Union has adopted a new round of sanctions against Russia’s economy today, but also announced they are delaying the implementation indefinitely, because of the ongoing ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
Though the sanctions were nominally meant to “punish” Russia for the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, the decision to delay over the ceasefire is surprising, as the EU finalized the sanctions deal after the ceasefire had already been agreed upon.
The delay underscores the divide between the US and the European Union on the sanctions against Russia, as US officials have made it clear they’ll continue to push the sanctions irrespective of what happens in Ukraine.
EU officials seemed to be expressing some hope that the ceasefire wouldn’t hold, and that the sanctions could be implemented in a few days. If it does hold, the officials say that they may review the sanctions entirely.
Is Europe mad.??? They want to reverse the sanctions already. How many people died on that plane? Putin has their blood on his hands. Keep the sanctions let Russia suffer the consequences.
If I understand Mr Ditz correctly, no sanctions are being reversed. A further round of sanctions has been agreed on and will be implemented if the ceasefire doesn't hold. The point is not to have "Russia" suffer the "consequences". The fight is with Putin, not with the Russians. Modern Russians are perfectly normal Europeans like the rest of us and there's no reason to believe that Putin has any real popular support for the confrontation course he has chosen. Judging from what similar populist nationalists got in the European Parliament elections, Putin probably doesn't have the support of more than about 10% of the electorate, concentrated in the upper age brackets, and even that would rapidly evaporate if a general war started. So for the moment the EU leaders approach seems to be the right one: wait and see. No new sanctions introduced, no existing ones withdrawn. Time, after all, is on the EU's side.
Your friend Yatseniuk already declared that the army will wait the weapons from Nato countries and reatack the Donbass region.A journalist asked him : "but you signed an agreement ?!" so what answered Yatseniuk…
People on that plane died because of Ukrainian airforce that straffed the airliner. You can get that info if you care from the limited report released thus far. The plane was perforated by OBJECTS, not a missile hit. Missile hit would not leave mutiple bullet holes in the plane. Even if the missile exploded in the vicinity of the plane, the type of damage to the fussilage would be different. They are hiding much — it was not hit by a missile. The language indicates bullets. BUK missile does not spray "high energy objects", that is bullets. This is AIR TO AIR attack. These are ROUND HOLES — no result of missile ripping through plane.
"A proximity fuse aboard the missile determines when it will detonate, creating an expanding fragmentation pattern of missile components and warhead to intercept and destroy the target." — Wikipedia on the Buk Missile
The EU politicos were appeasing the New Hitler (TM) – the US President, currently Obama for the benefit of the domestic US audience, so he can claim he is acting tough against the New Hitler (TM) Putin, whilst in reality Obama appeases the New Hitler (TM) Nuttyahoo.
Israel is indeed the centrepiece of the whole problem. Israel needs a powerful protector and that can only be the US. For obvious geographichal reasons, that protection can only be provided from Europe. Hence the survival of NATO. By capitulating to Putin over Crimea, the US discredited itself as Israel's protector and the only way to re-establish its credibility is to clobber Putin. Thus, US actions in Eastern Europe are indeed intended to appease Israel and its American supporters.
This morning CBC Radio is running a story about the preliminary report on the cause of the airliner crash. Even while CBC was reminding me that the plane was brought down by the Evil Rooskies, the Dutch report states the plane was brought down by multiple objects.
Of course, CBC never bothered to mention the multiple objects would have been fired by the Ukraine fighter(s) that were tailing the airliner. As always, the Big Lie wins, at least in US/Canada. Dumb Americans will continue to believe the rebels shoot down the plane, even in spite of the official reports that say otherwise.
If the ceasefire holds and the election on 26 October takes place under normal conditions in Donetsk and Lugansk, then no further sanctions will be imposed and some, if not all, of the existing ones could be lifted. I'm amused by the word "hope" in the last paragraph.
Give up Micky mouse, go home have a glass of cold water or something, don't waste your time with those who know more, more then you can imagine. Ukrainian people are wining over the Neo chevron fascism in Kiev no matter what you think or how low your intelligents about Russia, Ukraine and democracy is. So go home.
EU delays the Russian sanction due to Russia already started rerouting their production, manufacturing and any other economic relation with EU and EU already feeling the pinch, look at the Spanish, Greece and other country farmers demonstration demanding for EU compensation for lost business with Russia which is about billions of dollars annually, if EU continues with its stupidity the next Russian step is not let any europen or American flight flying over Russia airspace, then EU economy truley will colaps in real time, as is already happening.
it is good to have an Hitler like Putin otherwise the Hitler Obama will be out of control.(or more exactly the lobby of guns in USA)
A valid point has Bianca, as high power bullets from a fighter jet could have done it, then an equally valid point has Knapp, for a missile set to explode just before contact would have been equally effective. Truth is, an honest investigation would easily identify the hole pattern and we would know for certain which be the case.
Problem is, the West is in full control and for an absolute if the fascist coup government is suspected then never will truth see the light of day.
So, as Russia and the Federalist freedom fighters are not so stupid as to do so stupid a thing as destroy their cause now and forever more. Therefore, pity the dear people of Ukraine if they become enslaved by so criminal and insane a pack of fascist people haters.
John,
I'm not sure that the hole pattern would be the key. It's not like we had a stationary shooter and stationary target so that there will be a series of nice round bullet holes if it was a gun and ragged odd-shaped holes if it was fragmentation.
The plane was moving at hundreds of miles per hour. So was the missile or the plane carrying the gun. And they were presumably moving at variable speeds and along variable axes/directions.
A more likely way to tell what hit the plane would be to check the edges of the holes for residue from whatever went through the fuselage. Presumably the bullets from an aircraft gun are made of different stuff than missile warhead and fuselage fragmentation.
But any way you cut it, we'll be served up the conclusion that the governments doing the serving want us to reach.
So the EU is going to add to the sanctions, just look at some of the US sanction exemptions, Coca Cola, the Movie Industry, the Television Industry, the media industry, there is a long list and every one of them has both lots of money to lose AND lots of political clout! Also GAZCOM is also on the list of exemptions because the EU needs the gas and Oil!
Of course we saw a quick Russian Sanctions return, a list of countries that Russia no longer buys goods from! I suggest that Russia will just turn off the gas as a Sanction against the West, that by the way will strike directly at the US economy because gas and Oil prices will spike! Europe will not have cooking and heating gas and many other energy related problems!
I don't trust Putin but I trust the Ukraine President less, he is a long time practicing Nazi, NOT what others have called Putin or Obama but a REAL Nazi that believes in the ideals of the Original Nazi Party of Germany! We should never forget the language he used before the Crimeans voted to secede, words like we "will crush the sub human Russian speaking scum" and you wonder WHY the so called rebels want to leave Ukraine, worse still it was the US and EU that funded these Nazis to the tune of more than 5 billion dollars to overthrow a democratically elected Government and it wasn't the first time they have done it! I would suggest that it was Kiev that broke the peace deal BECAUSE they want the US and EU to fight the war for them! make it look as if it is the rebels and make it look as if Russia is supplying arms! Just remember this there were Armories all over the region military bases with all sorts of armaments in them tanks and artillery included! As for the missile system that is alleged to have down the plane, the Ukraine Kiev Government has 3 regiments of that missile system! It is strange that no contrail for that system was seen by anyone, that was commented about very early in the piece! Please note that the majority of Ukraine's military is refusing to fight which is why the Kiev Government is in fact training special regiments from Western Ukraine and it is also training foreign Ultra right wing nationals from the EU!