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| European Union Pushes Forward With Tougher Sanctions on Russia | European Union Pushes Forward With Tougher Sanctions on Russia |
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| BRUSSELS — European leaders agreed on Thursday to go ahead with additional economic sanctions meant to punish Russia for its role in promoting separatist warfare in eastern Ukraine, officials in Brussels and Moscow said. | BRUSSELS — European leaders agreed on Thursday to go ahead with additional economic sanctions meant to punish Russia for its role in promoting separatist warfare in eastern Ukraine, officials in Brussels and Moscow said. |
| The measures will take effect on Friday when they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union. That final step had been delayed for nearly two weeks, most recently because some European leaders wanted to assess compliance with a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine before going ahead. | The measures will take effect on Friday when they are published in the Official Journal of the European Union. That final step had been delayed for nearly two weeks, most recently because some European leaders wanted to assess compliance with a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine before going ahead. |
| The cease-fire between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels appears to be generally holding, though there have been sporadic reports of violations from both sides. | The cease-fire between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels appears to be generally holding, though there have been sporadic reports of violations from both sides. |
| The sanctions are meant to further crimp the ability of Russian businesses and banks to gain access to European capital markets, and will block exports to Russia of certain high-technology products. Twenty-four Russian officials who were not subject to previous sanctions will be banned from traveling in the West and have their overseas financial assets frozen, according to a diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity before the formal announcement. The diplomat said that Russia’s energy industry, and especially deepwater drilling for oil, would once again be a primary target. | |
| In a statement, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, the body representing the union’s leaders, confirmed that the new sanctions would be put into effect on Friday, but they would be reviewed by diplomats before the end of the month and could be revised swiftly if warranted. | In a statement, Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, the body representing the union’s leaders, confirmed that the new sanctions would be put into effect on Friday, but they would be reviewed by diplomats before the end of the month and could be revised swiftly if warranted. |
| “We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures,” Mr. Van Rompuy said. | “We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures,” Mr. Van Rompuy said. |
| The Kremlin lost no time on Thursday in saying that it would retaliate. Although Russian officials did not announce any specifics, they have previously threatened to ban flights by Western airlines over Russian airspace — potentially closing off an enormous stretch of territory and forcing long detours for flights between Europe and eastern Asia. | The Kremlin lost no time on Thursday in saying that it would retaliate. Although Russian officials did not announce any specifics, they have previously threatened to ban flights by Western airlines over Russian airspace — potentially closing off an enormous stretch of territory and forcing long detours for flights between Europe and eastern Asia. |
| Andrey Belousov, a senior economic aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said Thursday that another response might be to ban imports of automobiles to Russia, which is a huge market for used cars from Europe and Japan. | Andrey Belousov, a senior economic aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said Thursday that another response might be to ban imports of automobiles to Russia, which is a huge market for used cars from Europe and Japan. |
| “We have a full series of nonagricultural products, where our, above all European, partners depend more on Russia, than Russia on them,” Mr. Belousov said at an economic forum in the Russian city of Samara, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. “This concerns, for instance, the import of automobiles, above all used cars.” | “We have a full series of nonagricultural products, where our, above all European, partners depend more on Russia, than Russia on them,” Mr. Belousov said at an economic forum in the Russian city of Samara, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. “This concerns, for instance, the import of automobiles, above all used cars.” |
| Russia has already banned a wide variety of food and agricultural imports, including meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, as retaliation for earlier rounds of sanctions. Japan has so far been exempted from those measures, though it too has imposed some sanctions on Russia. | Russia has already banned a wide variety of food and agricultural imports, including meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, as retaliation for earlier rounds of sanctions. Japan has so far been exempted from those measures, though it too has imposed some sanctions on Russia. |
| A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr Lukashevich, denounced the new Western sanctions at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday, saying the measures were contrary to Europe’s interests. He accused Russia’s critics of using the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine as a pretext for inflicting unjustified economic harm on Russia. | A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr Lukashevich, denounced the new Western sanctions at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday, saying the measures were contrary to Europe’s interests. He accused Russia’s critics of using the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine as a pretext for inflicting unjustified economic harm on Russia. |
| The United States, which has been more aggressive than Europe in seeking to punish Russia for its role in Ukraine, is also expected to bring additional sanctions. European nations have tended to move more guardedly, in part because they generally have much closer economic ties to Russia than the United States does, and European businesses have much more to lose in the event of retaliation by Moscow. | The United States, which has been more aggressive than Europe in seeking to punish Russia for its role in Ukraine, is also expected to bring additional sanctions. European nations have tended to move more guardedly, in part because they generally have much closer economic ties to Russia than the United States does, and European businesses have much more to lose in the event of retaliation by Moscow. |
| In an interview with the Russian business daily Vedomosti that was published on Monday, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev warned that a ban on flights through Russian airspace would be devastating for Western airlines, while the West’s measures would achieve nothing in the end. | In an interview with the Russian business daily Vedomosti that was published on Monday, Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev warned that a ban on flights through Russian airspace would be devastating for Western airlines, while the West’s measures would achieve nothing in the end. |
| “Sanctions absolutely do not help to establish peace in Ukraine,” Mr. Medvedev said. “They miss the target, and the absolute majority of politicians understand this. There is just an inertia of thought and, unfortunately, a desire to use force in international affairs.” | “Sanctions absolutely do not help to establish peace in Ukraine,” Mr. Medvedev said. “They miss the target, and the absolute majority of politicians understand this. There is just an inertia of thought and, unfortunately, a desire to use force in international affairs.” |