Toro
Diamond Member
Europe is finally coming around to dealing with Russia, as they should.
EU Sanctions Mark Shift From Go-Slow Approach With Moscow - WSJ
Days after the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, as the remains of some victims still lay strewn over Ukrainian farmland, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier tried to reach his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in a bid to calm the crisis. The response from Mr. Lavrov's office, according to several people familiar with the matter: The minister was on a rafting trip.
It was part of a stream of frustrating episodes that helped push European diplomats to do the once-unthinkable: endorse damaging economic sanctions against their giant neighbor to the east.
After months of exhaustive efforts by Mr. Steinmeier and others to show understanding for Kremlin concerns and bring pro-Russia separatists to the negotiating table, European diplomats decided Tuesday that they had no option but to make good on their threats to punish Russia's already fragile economy.
They agreed, for the first time, on measures to target sectors of the Russian economy rather than, as before, hitting individuals deemed to be destabilizing Ukraine or specific companies linked with them. The sanctions will target four economic sectors: finance, dual-use equipment with possible military applications, arms and oil-production equipment. ...
But what appeared to catch [German officials] by surprise was the Kremlin's response. The crash of Flight 17, rather than pulling Mr. Putin and the rebels to the negotiating table, instead appeared to spur them to dig in. Top officials in Brussels and Berlin grew furious, not simply because the plane was shot down but because Moscow didn't appear to be making a good-faith effort to help investigate the crash. ...
Images of separatists appearing to treat victims' belongings disrespectfully added political pressure, changing the mood of a public that had been skeptical of escalating Europe's confrontation with Russia. Officials looked askance at what they considered to be propaganda about the crash coming from Russia. ...
"There was a growing sense that they showed no remorse, that they kept lying and that Putin betrayed all those with whom he was in contact," another EU foreign minister said.
EU Sanctions Mark Shift From Go-Slow Approach With Moscow - WSJ