European Union foreign ministers on Friday criticized Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
The diplomats gathered in Brussels on Friday to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion, just hours after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that the conflict was likely to worsen in coming days.
The ministers are being joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Stoltenberg, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell slammed Russian attacks on civilians in Ukraine, saying it was “bombing and shelling everything, hospitals, houses, schools.”
“These are war crimes,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is to speak at the meeting via video link from Kyiv.
What is the meeting about?
A statement on the Council of the European Union’s website said the ministers “will hold a discussion on the conflict that erupted after the Russian military aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022.”
The statement called Russia’s attack on Ukraine “unprovoked and unjustified” and said the bloc also condemned Belarus’ involvement in the military operation
At an earlier NATO meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that more sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin over his military actions in Ukraine were being prepared.
“With his war against Ukraine (Putin) is also driving his own country into ruin,” Baerbock said.
At the same meeting, Borrell, when questioned about possible sanctions on the Russian oil and gas sector, said that “everything remains on the table.”
So far, such sanctions have been rejected amid fears that the fuel shortages they might cause could be too damaging for European economies.
tj/rt (dpa, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-eu-foreign-ministers-slam-russian-attacks-on-civilians/a-61018459?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf