EU fails to reach agreement on new sanctions package against Russia

By Melike Pala

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union failed to reach an agreement on its latest sanctions package against Russia during Monday's foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, calling the outcome a "setback" but vowing that work would continue.

"Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement on the 20th sanctions package. This is a setback and message we didn't want to send today, but the work continues," Kallas said, adding that outreach is ongoing with Hungarian and Slovakian authorities to advance the package.

Kallas said the decision to step back from the agreement reached by all EU leaders in the European Council is "regrettable" and violates the "sincere cooperation clause" in EU treaties.

She said EU Council President Antonio Costa and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will raise the issue with Viktor Orban, Hungary’s premier, who opposes the package.

The EU had initially planned to use Russian frozen assets to fund sanctions, but Kallas indicated that if the current approach fails, the bloc could return to this plan.

On Ukraine, Kallas emphasized that diplomacy is preferable to war but lamented that after more than a year of talks, there is still no ceasefire in the Ukraine war, which is turning four years old this week.

"It's not Ukraine that is the obstacle to peace, Russia is. We must flip the script from pressure on Ukraine to surrender territory to what Russia must do to meet the basic conditions for just and loss of peace," she said, warning that Moscow's "maximalist demands cannot be met with minimal responses."

Kallas announced that the bloc had decided to limit the maximum size of the Russian mission in the EU to 40 people, adding that the bloc will work to prevent "hundreds of thousands of former Russian soldiers" from entering the Schengen area to avoid "war criminals and sabotage roaming European streets."

She also shared a paper with EU member states outlining the concessions the EU should see from Russia, including the withdrawal of Russian troops from occupied territories and honoring existing international agreements.

- Middle East, Venezuela

Turning to the Middle East, Kallas criticized Israel's expansion of powers in the West Bank, saying it breaches international law and undermines the prospects for a future Palestinian state.

"Twenty-six countries want sanctions on the violent settlers (in the West Bank). It has been on the table for quite some time, and one doesn't want (it) so this is clearly the problem that we have in our decision-making processes," she said.

On current tensions between the US States and Iran, Kallas warned that the two countries are "inching dangerously towards war."

"The window of diplomacy is very narrow, and of course, we have many concerns with Iran ... but any military intervention risks hard to control consequences," she said.

On Venezuela, Kallas said the EU will soon discuss a new approach, proposing to lift sanctions on acting President Delcy Rodriguez, contingent on reaching consensus.