BRUSSELS, Belgium – EU leaders have one message from Beijing as they gather in Brussels to discuss a new sanction against Russia: the resignation of President Vladimir Putin.
Chinese authorities have so far refused to fully condemn Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbors and have backed Moscow’s complaints about NATO’s rise.
U.S. officials have also said that Russia has asked China for military and economic support – something the Kremlin and Beijing have both denied.
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said: “China is a very important country, not important to the peace process, they have a lot of power, a lot of power, so we are all waiting.”
Latvian Prime Minister Artus Karins also told CNBC: “China has a choice, it’s an easy choice: enter your share with Russia – fight Ukraine, bomb women, children, hospitals – or find a way to work with Europe. , and the US and western democracies. ”
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin also called China a “great player” and said the European Union should ensure that “China is on the right side of history in this war.”
“If China helps Russia, sanctions will not work [the way we want them to],” Marin added.
The European Union, along with the US, U.K., Canada and others, imposed various sanctions on Moscow for its first attack and the subsequent war in Ukraine.
This is expected to contribute to a 15% decline in Russia’s economy this year, coupled with a 3% decline next year, marking the end of a 15-year period of economic growth, according to the Institute of International Finance.
However, further economic woes may continue.
The United States had earlier announced on Thursday that it was planning to punish some 400 Russian nationals and that 27 EU leaders were also considering possible new sanctions as they convened for a two-day summit in Brussels.
Speaking to CNBC, EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said he expected a new guide from heads of state on “how to continue to raise sanctions, personal sanctions and industry sanctions.”
However, European leaders are unlikely to achieve the full Russian oil embargo, for now.
Although several EU member states, most notably Poland and the Baltic states, agreed to the immediate ban; some nations are reluctant to take this step for fear of economic consequences.
The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, said the problem was the various levels of dependence on Russian foreign power, as well as the potential oil impediment among European citizens.
“What we need to understand is that each country or government is dependent on public opinion and unfortunately Europeans’ patience for what is best for them is not very long. So we are not very patient with this and this creates problems for [other] sanctions, ”he said.
“The community must also support them and we must understand that difficult times are yet to come,” he added.