First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusic participated in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels which, apart from Iraq and the Middle East, focused on the situation in Ukraine following the Malaysian plane shoot down.
After the meeting, Pusic said that the Dutch foreign minister had reported on the dramatic situation following the shoot down as well as the unwillingness to stop the looting, and held Russia responsible. Remarks were also delivered by the ministers of the UK, Belgium and Germany, whose citizens also died in the attack, criticizing Russia for sluggish reaction to the pillaging of the remains and ensuring access, at the same time applauding the cooperativeness of the Ukrainian authorities.
The first thing to do is to transport the mortal remains to the Netherlands, then ensure an independent investigation and punish the responsible Pusic said, adding that Croatia supports the proposal that the investigation be led by Dutch experts. In the next two days, the member states are to submit proposals based on which the Council will update the list of persons and companies under sanctions, while the Commission will prepare a proposal for economic sanctions by end-July.
The ministers also discussed imposing an arms embargo. Pusic said that so far there was no reason for an extraordinary meeting of the European Council to confirm imposing the third phase of sanctions (economic) as by limiting certain financial transactions with Russia the EC had already taken a step towards economic sanctions.
In response to statements by some officials that the Council’s conclusions will not scare the Russian president, Pusic said that shooting down the plane scared Putin as it was something Russia had not planned, and dramatically affects their position. The EU can and has to find a solution to pacify the situation in Ukraine. The point is not to retaliate but to say enough and seek out a solution, Pusic said, adding that the EU is the one which is expected to and can do it.
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