By Nicholas Winning
LONDON--The European Union's work on tougher economic and trade sanctions that could be imposed on Russia if necessary is "well advanced," and the plans have been sent to each of the 28 members of the bloc, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday.
The statement came as the EU and U.S. moved to increase the pressure on Russia over its alleged intervention in Ukraine with a fresh round of targeted sanctions. On Monday, the EU agreed to hit 15 more Russian and Ukrainian individuals with travel bans and asset freezes, bringing the total number to 48.
Meanwhile, Washington imposed similar sanctions on seven Russian government officials and an asset freeze on 17 companies linked to President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
"It cannot be acceptable in the 21st century not only to invade and annex by force on the back of a sham referendum part of a neighboring country, but to use military exercises and proxies to foment instability and disorder in that country in an effort to disrupt its democratic elections," Mr. Hague told the U.K. parliament. "These are policies we have to be clear we oppose, and we must be ready to take measures which make very clear that approach."
Mr. Hague said it wouldn't be helpful to set out a red line, or "trip wire", that would trigger more severe economic, trade and financial measures on Moscow, because it would invite Russia to go up to that point knowing it wouldn't face the sanctions. However, in the opinion of Britain and most EU countries such measures should be applied if Russia's military invaded eastern Ukraine, he said.
"But I think it is important to hold out the option of such sanctions being applied in circumstances that don't amount to a military invasion but do amount to a political and...forcible takeover by other means of large parts of eastern Ukraine," he said.
Amid concerns about the damage to European economies should economic and trade measures be imposed on Russia, Mr. Hague said it would be important that the necessary sacrifices were shared across the EU.
"But we [Britain] would certainly play our part in that and, of course, we would seek to construct those measures in a way that had the maximum effect on the Russian economy and the minimum effect on European Union economies," he said.
Mr. Hague said he would visit Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova next week. In his statement, he said Britain supported International Monetary Fund plans to put in place a two-year program worth potentially over $17 billion to help Ukraine make the reforms it urgently needs to build a stronger economy.
Britain's cooperation with Russia on other issues such as Afghanistan and Iran's nuclear talks were continuing despite the Ukraine crisis, he added.
Write to Nicholas Winning at nick.winning@wsj.com
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1ixqlzR
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