[dailymotion code=”k4TBZgXozwaWz3xEJQd” autoplay=”yes”]
The European Union will move to impose sanctions on Russia should President Vladimir Putin recognise Ukraine’s separatist territories as independent, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday.
“We call upon President Putin to respect international law and the Minsk agreements and expect him not to recognise the independence of Lugansk and Donetsk oblasts,” Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We are ready to react with a strong, united front in case he should decide to do so.”
He added: “If there is a recognition I will put the sanctions on the table and the ministers will decide”.
As Borrell was speaking, the Kremlin announced that Putin was set to recognise the two breakaway territories backed by Moscow as independent.
The EU has warned it will impose unprecedented sanctions on Moscow if it invades Ukraine after it deployed an estimated 150,000 soldiers to the border.
