Europe, UK say to prepare sanctions against Russia on Tuesday

BRUSSELS/PARIS/LONDON/BELGRADE, Feb 22 (PRIME) -- The permanent representatives of E.U. member-countries (COREPER) and the U.K. government will prepare on Tuesday sanctions against Russia over its recognition of eastern Ukraine areas and plans to deploy its army there, according to respective documents.

A meeting of the E.U.'s COREPER on the sanctions is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., local time, which is 11:30 a.m. in Moscow. The U.K. government is to meet at 6:30 a.m., local time, 9:30 a.m., Moscow time. The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

France's President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia's decision on the republics and called for sanctions, convocation of an extraordinary meeting of the U.N. Security Council and extension of the blacklist of Russian officials and companies.

However, Reuters reported that the European sanctions will unlikely be introduced on Tuesday, because Brussels wants to see Russia's further steps. RTL Nieuws reported that Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte pledged a decision on sanctions on Tuesday or Wednesday. U.K. Foreign Minister Liz Truss said in her Twitter account that sanctions against Russia will be announced on Tuesday.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the sanctions would likely affect Russian gas pipelines, and natural gas would become costlier. The oil, coal and grain prices will rise as well, he added.

Canada condemned Russia's decision to recognize independence of the regions and pledged sanctions.

Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the international cooperation commission of the State Duma, said that an iron curtain has long being built for Russia, but it was impossible to separate it from the world. "(Russia cannot be separated) if we take into account the fact that the countries that are trying to do that are in a minority by number: three tens out of 200 that there are in the world and by the volume of the gross domestic product of the countries," Klimov said.

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