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President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday that in the European Council meeting there haven't been any constraints from any member state regarding the sanctions for Russia, in the context of the situation in Syria.
"The discussion was profound and based on principles about Russia, about Russia's involvement in Donbass, in Syria, about what we must do. However, there haven't been any arguments and under no circumstance constrains from one or another of the European Council member states. I have read something very strange, that some would have wanted to apply sanctions against Russia and someone would have saved the Russians. There was no such thing. There were discussions on formulations in conclusions and the entire discussion focused on the formulations of the conclusions to be firm, to reflect the will of all 28, and to make it clear for Russia that we don't approve of this approach. Any other interpretation is exaggerated and doesn't match reality," Iohannis said at the end of the European Council meeting.
He underscored that the discussions on Russia were on the text whether to include possible sanctions or not. "Our position was that, if we included all options, it is comprehensive and we are satisfied with that," Iohannis said. The head of state pointed out that the European Council agreed on a stronger involvement of the EU in promoting the diplomatic solutions for peace in Syria. "We have all condemned the unwise actions that took place there [in Aleppo] and drawn the attention that Russia's actions are erroneous," Iohannis added.
