EU foreign ministers were meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss a number of hot topics, including a new set of sanctions that could be implemented by the end of this week. “We have prepared everything to implement these sanctions,” Asselborn said at his doorstep on arriving in Brussels. “I also know that we won’t change the world through sanctions. But we should stay on this track to maintain our credibility.”
The new package will be focused on individuals, chiefly Russian politicians, Asselborn explained. “But also collaborators from Ukraine and some business units.”
EU ambassadors will work on the finer details of the sanctions package on Monday evening after the Foreign Affairs Council has ended.
The aim of the next package is to force Russian president Vladimir Putin to sit at the negotiating table, said the foreign minister.
We must explain that it is the Russian war against Ukraine that is at the root of the difficulties our partners are experiencing in terms of food security and energy,”
He also condemned the Russian army’s attempts to destroy or undermine Ukraine’s wheat fields and to occupy port cities to prevent Ukraine from exporting its crops to world markets.
Asselborn also wants the EU to continue to better explain the reasoning behind the sanctions to the countries it trades with. “In particular to our partners in Africa where Russian presence and influence are increasingly assertive. We must explain that it is the Russian war against Ukraine that is at the root of the difficulties our partners are experiencing in terms of food security and energy,” Asselborn continued.
The stakes are high, said Asselborn as Europe faces being cut off from gas and several regions of the world face extreme hunger. He explained that none of the sanctions forbid countries from delivering food to Russia. “But these are not normal times. We are in a time of the law of the jungle, of the survival of the strongest. I hope the whole world sees the means that Putin is using.”
Asselborn said that if Putin is given any credibility for his military actions, he will not stop at Ukraine but will invade other EU countries or even attack nations on other continents.
Digital diplomacy
Speaking at the meeting on behalf of a joint statement from the Benelux countries, Asselborn said that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has “highlighted the need for the EU to strengthen its relations with countries that share our values and principles.” He stressed the need for “more awareness and cooperation to defend effective multilateralism and a strong rules-based international order.”
In this regard, Asselborn wants to make efforts to strengthen ties between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, saying that the region could play a major role in the fight against the food and energy crises facing the EU.
Asselborn welcomed the welcomed the conclusions adopted at the meeting to strengthen the EU’s efforts in digital diplomacy, which he said would improve security and resilience against cyberattacks and also boost the bloc’s competitiveness and capacity for innovation.
“The situation in Ukraine has again shown how important it is for the EU to strengthen its presence, action and visibility in digital and technological matters,” Asselborn concluded.