Ukraine, what happens now: EU raises its voice, but is divided on sanctions – Foreign

A frozen shower. Putin has confronted Europe and the United States with a fait accompli by burying the Minsk peace process. And now it is no longer unlikely that the West can lead to economic and diplomatic sanctions that are preventive and not only subsequent to a direct military attack on Ukraine. However, this would take Putin out of the way of trying to avoid sanctions, and therefore would reasonably lead at least to the entry of Russian troops into the Donbass, if not to a real invasion. The Kremlin’s decision to recognize the Donbass separatist republics certainly changes everything. “We are ready to react – the EU High Representative Josep Borrell announced yesterday – and certainly if there is annexation there will be sanctions”. There are several hypotheses at stake and the 27 are divided. The finance and export sectors will certainly be affected, but the opposite is true of gas and banks. The Baltic countries and Poland – in agreement with the UK and America – lead the hawks while Paris, Berlin and Rome, would favor a proportionality of the measures. “The recognition of the two separatist territories in Ukraine – tweeted the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen – is a clear violation of international law, of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and of the Minsk agreements. The EU and its partners will react with unity, firmness and determination “. We’ll see. Donbass, what the region at the center of the Ukrainian crisis represents Putin announced his decision in a three-way phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who, the Kremlin informed, “expressed disappointment”. Which is an understatement. The impression is that of having been deceived and deluded by Putin. “The recognition of Donbass is a unilateral violation of the agreements …