Will the EU foreign ministers sell out Ukraine once more? (29 January 2015)

"European Union foreign ministers will gather here in an emergency meeting to-day, 29th Jan. 2015, to discuss the EU’s response to an assault by Russian-backed rebels on the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, EU Foreign Affairs Chief Federica Mogherini said on Twitter on Sunday." (Matthew Dalton And Laurence Norman : Wall Street Journal : Jan 27, 2015)

As Laurence Norman reports,

"The European Union could extend targeted sanctions on Russian officials and separatist leaders when foreign ministers meet Thursday but there is little momentum behind a push for broader measures at this stage, EU diplomats said." (Wall Street Journal : Jan 29, 2015)

And now Putin has a new young Greek ally in the EU. As reported by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber,

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras

"Syriza, also known as the Coalition of the Radical Left, had 36.34 percent of the vote after the final ballots were tallied Monday. With an anti-austerity platform and a pledge to remain in the euro zone, the party — which has formed an unlikely coalition with the right-wing Independent Greeks party in order to gain an overall majority — has been a staunch opponent of EU sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine. " (The Moscow Times : Jan. 26 2015 ) (my emphasis) 

Furthermore,

Alexis Tsipras & Valentina Matviyenko

"The leftist leader met with Russian officials in Moscow last May, including Valentina Matviyenko, chair of the Russian parliament's upper house who had served as Russia's ambassador to Greece in the late 1990s. According to Greek media, Tsipras used the occasion to chastise the EU's policy on Ukraine, denounce European sanctions against Moscow and support separatist referendums in eastern Ukraine that the West said were illegitimate" (ibid Moscow Times) (my emphasis) See also Anton Shekhovtsov.

What is interesting is that Putin draws his supporters in the EU from the far-left and the far-right, the 'fragrant' Mogherini and Alexis Tsipras being examples of the far-left, and Marine Le Pen's 'Front Nationale' and Hungary's 'Jobbik' Party examples of far-right EU parties.

Is it this support in the EU that is emboldening Putin to now openly 'invade' Ukraine in the hopes of creating a land-bridge between Crimea and Russia through the port of Mariupol?

Yesterday,

Joe Biden

"The White House gave a strong signal on Wednesday that it was considering further sanctions against Russia over its support for the separatists.

US Vice President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke on the phone after which the US condemned "Russian-backed separatists" and the "heavy toll that the Russian-backed offensive in the east was having on Ukraine's civilian population". (BBC News Europe  : 29 January 2015)

Francesco Guarascio

Furthermore,  Francesco Guarascio reports that,

"The EU has prepared a draft statement for the foreign ministers of its 28 members to agree to extend sanctions against Russia by six months, add new people to the sanctions list and prepare new measures." (Reuters : Wed Jan 28, 2015)

But that,

"A decision on further economic sanctions on Russia is likely to be left to EU leaders who next meet on Feb. 12." (ibid Reuters) (my emphasis)

So whilst the White House will be 'putting its money where its mouth is' the EU will, yet again,

"have little momentum behind a push for broader measures at this stage, EU diplomats said." (ibid Wall Street Journal)

One has to sometimes wonder whether it would be a useful exercise if those EU foreign ministers and leaders that support lifting sanctions against Putin's economy, his kleptocratic Russian clan, 
 

 
and his proxies fighting in eastern Ukraine, should individualy appear on Ukrainian TV and simply tell the Ukrainian people that they will not support them in this their hour of need. 

How many of them will be willing to do this on Ukrainian TV? How many of them will simply be too afraid? Or even if the whole of todays EU foreign ministers meeting can be televised throughout the EU, including Ukraine?

We await to see what this closed meeting of EU foreign ministers will decide today ........ what they have in store for the people of Ukraine. 

(to be continued)