UPDATED ON:
Thursday, August 28, 2008
19:48 Mecca time, 16:48 GMT
 
News Europe
EU considers sanctions on Russia

Medvedev, left, and Lavrov attended the meeting in Dushanbe on Thursday [AFP]

Leaders in the European Union are considering imposing sanctions against Russia, Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, has said.

Asked at a news conference in Paris about measures that could be taken against Russia over its refusal to pull back troops in Georgia, Kouchner said: "Sanctions are being considered and many other means as well".

"We are trying to elaborate a strong text that will show our determination not to accept (what is happening in Georgia)," he said. "Of course, there are also sanctions."

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said the EU discussions are the product of a "sick imagination" and Western confusion.

"Apart from that my friend Kouchner also said that we will soon attack Moldova and Ukraine and the Crimea ... But that is a sick imagination and probably that applies to sanctions as well," Lavrov told reporters in the Tajik capital.

"I think it is a demonstration of complete confusion," he said.

The warning was made "just because they're upset that the 'little pet' of certain Western capitals didn't fulfill their expectations," Lavrov said, referring to Georgia.

Georgia summit

France, which holds the rotating European Union presidency, has called a meeting of EU heads of governments on Monday to discuss the Georgian crisis.

Kouchner said several European countries were in favour of imposing sanctions but a French diplomat said France itself was not one of the countries pushing for them.

France, which brokered a six-point ceasefire between Russia and Georgia, has taken a more moderate line than other European countries like Britain, but has been increasingly frustrated by what it sees as Moscow's failure to comply with the plan.

Moscow says it is complying with the ceasefire, but it has yet to pull back its troops as agreed.

It has also recognised two breakaway regions of Georgia as independent states even though the plan calls for international talks on security arrangements there.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, who spoke with Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president on Wednesday, has insisted Russian forces that have not yet pulled back to their positions before fighting broke out must do so immediately.

But Kouchner said Paris would remain patient.

"France is not in favour of cutting relations with Russia. This will be solved by negotiation. We need time, we're under no illusion about that," he said.

Asia 'support'

Also on Thursday, an Asian security alliance denounced the use of force used in the Russia-Georgia war and called for respect for every country's territorial integrity.

Thursday's joint declaration from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) deepens Russia's international isolation over its military action, which was blasted in the West for being disproportionate.

The SCO members met in the Tajikistan capital Dushanbe [AFP]

According to Russian news agencies, the declaration says the presidents reaffirmed their commitment to "efforts aimed at preserving the unity of a state and its territorial integrity.''

The declaration also says "placing the emphasis exclusively on the use of force has no prospects and hinders a comprehensive settlement of local conflicts".

Medvedev had appealed to the alliance, which consists of member states Russia, China, Kazakhstan and three central Asian countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, for unanimous support of Russia's response to Georgia's "aggression".

Neave Barker, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow, said the SCO's response was not the "clear-cut bold show of support" that Russia had possibly hoped for.

"It has been half-hearted to a certain extent. We have to remember that a number of those leaders...the likes of President Karzai of Afghanistan, President  Ahmadinejad of Iran, have their own domestic and foreign policy issues with themselves and with the West.

"It's unlikely they're going to stick their neck out to lend unbridled support for Russia's call for independence in South Ossetia or Abkhazia at the risk of throwing a spanner in the works for their own domestic problems as well."

Georgia launched a military offensive into its separatist-held region of South Ossetia on August 8.

Russia in response piled hundreds of tanks into the Moscow-friendly regions, pushing out the Georgian army and then pushing deeper into Georgia proper.

Towns and villages in South Ossetia and in Georgia were subject to air raids and extensive looting by South Ossetian militia groups.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 12
 
Manny
Afghanistan
29/08/2008
Russia Will Only Attack Weak Countries
Say what you want. The Bear (Russian) has always attacked all the peoples on their borders. Russia won't go to far. Like a bully, it will not dare try to fight someone that can fight back (NATO). Besides, We will get our Idiot president out of the White House soon. Things will get better for all. Obama or McCain will be a huge improvement.

Aslam
Great Britain (UK)
29/08/2008
Sanctions...?? Having a laugh...
Where was EU when US invaded Sovereign nation of Iraq? Forget that where is EU when Isreal still occupies Palestine land? Why doesn't the EU impose sanctions on Isreal or US? What hypocrites.

Adam
United States
29/08/2008
EU Sanctions on Iran
The sound of the EU imposing sanctions on the Russians sounds adorable and cute but the fact of the matter is that they are talking to the second most powerful military in the world. The children that are running these affairs inside the EU are clearly delusional. In regards to the sheer hypocrisy of the EU, where were they with their little sanctions when Israel massacred over 2,000 innocent men, women, and children in Lebanon in 1982. Where was the EU when the US illegally invaded Iraq in 2003

k.
Afghanistan
29/08/2008
unfortunately for the Europeans sanction is a two way street.

Lana
Tajikistan
29/08/2008
EU sanctions against Russia
wait a minute... let me recall the recent history: georgia had been abusing rights of minorities in abkhazia and south osetia for years. it was georgia, supported by the big brother, who violated security council decision and attacked s.osetia. what for? to provoke once again russia. provocations - is the dirty game georgia plays. for god's sake let's stop talking politics - there are people lives on stake. anyone ever mentioned this? EU- wake up!do not become a political prostitute!

Joe
Australia
28/08/2008
EU... What a joke.
If only the EU had been as determined and less biased they may have averted the illegal invasion of Iraq and the consequent death of thousand of innocent people. Its very clear who the EU is in bed with.

Ayub
Afghanistan
28/08/2008
Sanctions?..A sick joke.
This is Russia we're talking about,have the EU lost their minds,are they smoking the US drug crack cocaine,they must be,it seems the US and EU impose sanctions on whomever they please and again 100s of thousands innocent die like Iraqis in the first Iraqi invasion where 500,000 mostly children died because of lack of food.I think the Russians should invade the other former soviet republics just to shame these murderous,greedy US and EU cowards.

H. Kissingher
United Kingdom
29/08/2008
EU & Georgia
According to the responses from the SCO outlined here, it seems that there is more democracy in operation among SCO countries than among those of NATO. I don't recall hearing the EU calling for sanctions against the USA & UK over their invasion & destruction of Iraq.

JudaZ
Sweden
29/08/2008
EU and US sanctions ..
EU seems to forget who attacked who, and the also seem to forget where alot of european countries get their natural gas and their oil from. Sanctions..yeay, like russia would care. They could just team up with North Korea, China, Iran and any other under sanctions from the US, EU , UN what ever. creat a free trade with these brotherhood nations, and ignore the sanctions. To tip it of, start sanctions against US and EU, rising oil prices sky high, and THe alread lousy US economy crashing down.

Bob
United States
29/08/2008
russia
1st of all.....the 1st Iraq war started because Iraq took over a smaller county and then massed the army on the northern saudi border. Did you think America would sit there and not protect her major oil producer? 2nd...this about Geogia's international borders and they a soverign country who was dealing w/ a internal issue, and before you say America always sticks their nose in everyone else's problems, think about the fact that it's those countries govt's who ask us to get involved.

ngwazi
Afghanistan
29/08/2008
Bravo Russia
...Devilish Washington and satanic EU must leave Russia in peace. Why should it be always Bloody Americans ? Stay in your continent... Everywhere there is war: It is America....It is high time...STAY IN YOUR CONTINENT. Why are you not commenting on the nasty, ill intentions of the Georgians ? Americans we are fed up with your conduct. You are always abusing your power. STAY IN YOUR CONTINENT.

Alex
Germany
29/08/2008
Sanctions
@Ayub: The numbers you report are ridiculous. But anyway, you could also say that whoever died did that because the Iraqi regime denied to comply. There are always two sides when sanctions are imposed: The side who imposes sanctions and the side that denies to comply. So the Russians should invade sovereign countries??? And the US and EU are murderous, greedy and cowardly??? How OLD are you to say things like that? And... Have you EVER been to the EU or US?

 
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