The European Union has given till Sunday substantially one week deadline to Russia to change course on the crisis in Ukraine, always under the threat of the imposition of new sanctions.

“The European Union stands ready to take further measures in the light of the escalation in Ukraine” said the President of European Council after the extraordinary summit of the 28 EU leaders in Brussels.

Van Rompuy stated that the European Commission is responsible for preparing a new round of “emergency”, while added that the proposals must be submitted “in  a week” and the decision will be “in accordance with the situation” .

“Everyone recognizes the need for an immediate to act ” he continuous. “There is a strong determination to impose every possible pressure on Russia to return to the negotiating table and find a political solution,” he said. Consultations among the 28 will begin on Monday, “in order to be  ready within a week,” said Herman van Rompuy.

These economic sanctions “have a visible impact on the Russian economy,” assured the President of the European Council. The European Union decided on the 29^th of July to block Russia’s access to financial markets and to impose measures on arms sales, sensitive technologies in the field of energy and dual-use, civilian and military.

Satisfaction from the Greek side for EU Summit decisions
Greek diplomatic sources expressed their satisfaction with the decisions reached in Brussels by the Heads of State and Government of the European Union.

Further, the same sources noted that,  for the issue of sanctions against Russia after the intervention of the Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras, the Heads of State and Government underline in their final communiqué that LNG could be an alternative source of energy for Europe in case of crisis escalation by Russia.

Moreover, the Greek side put emphasis on the issue of coverage of costs incurred to the Greek economy from the EU financial sanctions against Russia, noting that it is relatively higher among the Member States of the European Union.

Merkel: New sanctions if there is no change in the situation in Ukraine

The European Union will decide this week on new sanctions to be imposed against Russia said Angela Merkel.

Like the German chancellor told reporters,  the EU will impose new sanctions against Russia if there is no change to the current situation in Ukraine, or if the situation in the country is deteriorated.

Se also stressed that economic sanctions will affect the areas of finance and energy, as is already the end of July.