EU leaders unite to blacklist more senior Russians

EU leaders united in agreeing to include a dozen more Russian politicians and senior advisers in the Kremlin on their blacklist, but discussions on the next steps were proving more difficult last night at their two-day summit.

Plans for an OSCE mission on the ground in Ukraine were fading. Russia said it should be based mainly in Kiev to investigate what it claims is an illegal government, while Ukraine wants it in Crimea.

Instead some countries, including Finland, were pushing for a EU mission of civilians and perhaps customs and border experts.

The meeting was held amid the tightest security seen at an EU summit with communications in the room scrambled and the leaders — meeting without advisers — had their internet, phone and wifi services blocked to prevent leaks.

The list of more high profile figures than the 21 agreed earlier in the week is expected to be known this afternoon when any assets they hold in the EU will be frozen and they will be refused visas to travel.

A number of them have dual citizenship — Russian and Finnish — which means they will only be able to travel to Finland and would be arrested if they moved into any other EU country.

The leaders’ discussion focused on discussing future steps, including adding more names to the blacklist and moving to Phase 3, which are trade sanctions.

“We want to get closer to the inner circle” said one diplomat, adding that they expect when some of the oligarchs are added to it, it will increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

They received a briefing from Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on the likely effects on both the EU and Russia of further sanctions and trade moves, and were likely to ask for more detailed study.

Belgian prime minister Elio Di Rupo said he wanted political, economic and military analysis of the effects of potential sanctions.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny agreed that sanctions hurt all sides and said Ireland favoured them against individuals, but he was more reticent on broader sanctions which would directly hit Russia’s economy.

Europe Minister Paschal Donohoe said, however, they would have little direct effect on Ireland, contradicting the Russian ambassador Maxim Peshkov who said they would hurt Ireland more than his country.

“Any effect would be indirect as anything that happens in other markets could have an effect on our exports”, he said.

Countries are concerned that some sanctions would hurt specific countries more than others — for instance a weapons ban would affect France, while a boycott of gas would affect Germany and several other countries and a clampdown on certain oligarchs would affect

London.

Diplomats said they wanted to look at the overall relationship with Russia and consider how best to proceed to achieve the goal of ensuring Moscow de-escalated the situation, withdrawing troops from Ukraine’s eastern border and reducing the rhetoric.

Signing part of the association agreement with Ukraine prime minister

Arseny Yatseniuk, who will attend part of the summit tomorrow in Brussels, also sends a clear signal to Russia that its behaviour is having the opposite effect and drawing the country closer to the EU.

German chancellor Angela Merkel told her parliament before travelling to the summit that the EU would “make clear that we are ready at any time to introduce Phase 3 if there is a worsening of the situation”.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Yurii Klymenko, told diplomats his country feared that Russia was preparing a further military incursion, according to Reuters.

“There are indications that Russia is on its way to unleash a full-blown military intervention in Ukraine’s east and south”, he said.