Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi speaking to journalists in Brussels.
Aris Oikonomou | AFP | Getty Images
BRUSSELS, Belgium – EU leaders had a message for Beijing as they gathered in Brussels to discuss new sanctions against Russia: Stop President Vladimir Putin.
Chinese authorities have so far refused to fully condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor and have backed Moscow’s grievances about NATO expansion.
US officials have also said that Russia has asked China for military and economic support – something both the Kremlin and Beijing have denied.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi said: “It is China [the] most important country, they can be decisive in the peace process, they have a lot of influence, a lot of influence and that’s why we’re all waiting.”
Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Karins also told CNBC: “China has a choice, it’s a pretty simple choice: join Russia – which is at war with Ukraine, bombing women, children, hospitals – or find a way with Europe to work together, with the US and with Western democracies.”
Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin also called China a “key player” and said the European Union must ensure “that China is on the right side of history with this war.”
Marin added: “If China helps Russia, sanctions will not work [in] the way we want them to work.”
The European Union, along with the US, UK, Canada and others, have imposed various rounds of sanctions on Moscow over its initial invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine.
These are expected to contribute to a 15% contraction in Russia’s economy this year, which combined with a 3% contraction next year means 15 years of economic growth will be wiped out, according to the Institute of International Finance.
However, more economic pain could lie ahead.
The US announced earlier Thursday that it plans to sanction about 400 Russian people, and the 27 EU leaders are also discussing the possibility of imposing new sanctions while holding a two-day meeting in Brussels.
Speaking to CNBC, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he expects new guidelines from heads of state “on how sanctions, personal sanctions and sectoral sanctions can be further increased”.
Still, European leaders are unlikely to go so far as to ban Russian oil entirely for the time being.
Although a number of EU Member States, notably Poland and the Baltic States, support an immediate ban; Other nations are skeptical about this step for fear of economic consequences.
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the problem is the varying dependence of nation states on Russian energy and the impact an oil ban could have on European citizens.
“What we need to understand is that every country or government is dependent on public opinion and unfortunately Europeans may not have that long patience when it comes to their own comforts. So we don’t have much patience for this and this creates problems when putting [on] more sanctions,” she said.
“The public must also support these and we must understand that difficult times are ahead,” she added.