RFE/RL's correspondent in Brussels, Rikard Jozwiak, talks about implemention of the latest EU sanctions against Moscow:
It is a very messy situation.
Officially, Finland has taken the blame for stopping the new sanctions from taking effect for now. Their prime minister last night said that they are supporting the sanctions but that they need more time to implement them.
But there are more countries in that camp, including Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, and Cyprus. They are all happy for this to just to go away. The more "hard-core" countries are obviously not too happy with this but both the Swedish and Lithuanian diplomats I spoke to seem to concede that there has been some improvement in Russian-Ukrainian relations in the last 48 hours to warrant a more cautious approach.
They are also pointing to the fact that there was a sort of compromise on September 8 because the statement by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy says that the measures will enter into force with the publication in the EU's official journal in the next few days.
But as I understand it, the sanctions might very well be published but also annulled at the same time so they never properly enter into force. The key sentence of the statement reads: "Depending on the situation on the ground, the EU stands ready to review the agreed sanctions in whole or in part."
Already on September 10 at 11 a.m. ambassadors will meet again to assess the implementation of the cease-fire and the peace plan. If there is no deterioration, the sanctions might very well never enter into force.
This just in from our News Desk:
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, on September 9 that Moscow remains committed to "further assist" the Ukrainian peace process.
The Kremlin said in a statement that in the course of the telephone conversation, "the importance of maintaining steady a cease-fire regime in the southeast of Ukraine was stressed."
The cease-fire, which took effect on September 5, appears generally to hold, despite violations reported by both sides.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped that talks would start soon on the status of eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have been waging an armed rebellion.
The separatists are seeking independence for eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where they declared so-called "people's republics."
The Ukrainian government has promised greater autonomy to the mainly Russian-speaking region but rules out independence.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf speaking today at a press briefing in Washington:
On the Dutch report about the July 17 downing of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine
"This leaves and highlights many questions that Russia must still answer about the possible involvement of its equipment, about the separatists it backs, about their involvement in the events that led to the crash of this airplane. So obviously we -- and not just us, but more importantly the families of the victims -- deserve answers, and we’d like the Russian government to provide some of those answers."
On the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine:
"Our assessment is that the cease-fire in general is mostly holding, although there are reports of mortar attacks and small-arms fire around a couple places, including the Donetsk airport, and reports of more intense violence in Luhansk and Donetsk, as well. So obviously it’s something we’re continuing to monitor. But again, it’s mostly holding."
On potential fresh U.S. sanctions against Russia:
"The United States is finalizing measures to both deepen and broaden our sanctions across Russia’s financial, energy, and defense sectors. We’re in close coordination with the EU on this."
"We have tools at the ready. We are finalizing these packages. But we’re going to make decisions based on what’s happening on the ground in the next few days."
On an Estonian security services officer detained by Russia in an alleged cross-border seizure:
"We are following this issue as it develops and call on Russia to act expeditiously to ensure the employee is returned safely and immediately to Estonia."