BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union foreign ministers on Monday threw their weight behind fresh diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine but shied away from the calls from some U.S. politicians to provide defensive weapons to Kiev.
EU foreign ministers were also assessing whether to expand the EU sanctions list targeting separatists and Russian nationals but were delaying an announcement after the latest developments on the diplomatic front over the weekend.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko are expected to hold talks Wednesday in Minsk, Belarus. But German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier cautioned that not all is set in stone yet, saying the meeting is “desired by many – hopefully possible.”
He said diplomats from all sides are meeting behind closed doors in Berlin on Monday to try to pave the way. “We hope that the outstanding issues can be resolved to a point that a Minsk meeting would hold some promise and can produce the first steps toward defusing the situation and a cease-fire,” he told reporters in Brussels.
But, he added, “it’s not yet certain. … There remains a lot of hard work.”
As debate continued in Washington on whether to send weapons to the embattled Ukrainian military, most EU ministers said that now is not the time to risk escalating tensions.
“We do not see this as progress. It would be easy for the Russians to immediately compensate for that. And it will not have an immediate impact,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.
Britain is to hold off, too, for now. “The UK is not intending to supply lethal weaponry to Ukraine at this point in time,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.
The EU foreign ministers had been expected to push through visa bans and asset freezes on 19 more individuals, including five Russians, to a sanctions list linked to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. But an immediate decision was not forthcoming.
“The list has been prepared, so that is good,” said Koenders. “Now we have to see whether it is wise or not to adopt this list.”
The EU now has visa bans and asset freezes on 132 individuals and 28 entities – mainly companies and separatist groups in eastern Ukraine not recognized by the West.
A new list of possible economic sanctions is being drawn up by EU agencies but no discussion on them is likely before EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday.
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David Rising contributed from Berlin