(Left to right) Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague and France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius attending a EU meeting in Brussels, yesterday. Photo: Reuters(Left to right) Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague and France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius attending a EU meeting in Brussels, yesterday. Photo: Reuters

The European Union took a cautious approach to imposing sanctions against Moscow yesterday, targeting 21 people in Russia and Crimea while leaving open the possibility of adding harsher economic measures when EU leaders meet later this week.

Those targeted include Russian legislators and military commanders as well as politicians responsible for calling for and organising Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, when 97 per cent of voters decided the region should secede from Ukraine and join Russia. The EU says the referendum was illegal and does not recognise the result.

“Any further steps by the Russian Federation to destabilise the situation in Ukraine would lead to additional and far-reaching consequences for relations in a broad range of economic areas,” EU foreign ministers said in a statement after meeting in Brussels.

Of the 21 people targeted with EU travel bans and asset freezes, 10 were Russian politicians, three were military officials and eight were Ukrainians, mostly from Crimea.

The list included the commander of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, Alexander Vitko, and the commanders of Russia’s southern and western military districts, which have forces in Crimea, as well as several Russian legislators.

Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, whose election in a closed session of the regional parliament is not recognised by Kiev, was also included.

Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said earlier that yesterday’s decisions would be the “first set” and the sanctions list could be widened at an EU summit on Thursday and Friday.

The US took similar steps yesterday but appeared to target more senior officials in Russia, including two aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin. EU diplomats said the difference reflected concerns in Europe over potential consequences for the bloc’s economy from any stronger measures, particularly if Russia retaliates.

“These lists are clearly slightly different. But it is easier for the US to take such decisions. First of all, they are further away and any economic consequences are not as painful,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters.

“We have done what we said we could do, but, yes, the US is from Mars, we are from Venus – get used to it.”

Sikorski also said the EU should be cautious when deciding to impose any wider trade measures against Russia in the future.

“I would suggest that we are not overly enthusiastic when it comes to introducing sanctions, because we will pay for it.”

EU sanctions require unanimity among all 28 member states and several countries, including Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal, have reservations about moving too quickly. As a result, yesterday’s move was not as far-reaching as initially expected. The EU had drawn up a master list of 120-130 names for possible sanctions, which was then whittled down.

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