BRUSSELS, December 02. /ITAR-TASS/. East European countries are considering the imposition of sanctions on the Ukrainian leadership and businessmen supporting it, Alejandro Gonzalez, a Brussels expert in the sphere of EU enlargement, told Itar-Tass on Monday.
“The first step for the introduction of European sanctions is the initiative of EU institutions or a group of European countries. A number of East European states are currently considering this measure against Ukraine, which follows from statements in the media made by numerous European diplomats,” he said.
“This mechanism has equally worked, in particular, during the ‘Arab spring’ events in the Middle East,” he said. “At the first stage restrictions on the entry to Europe for the country’s leadership, heads of security agencies and businessmen close to them are introduced with the aim of exerting pressure on the government and destroying its morale in the conditions of ‘a battle of nerves’ against the organisation of mass protests,” he said.
The expert also expressed doubt that all 28 European Union member states would easily agree to introduce such sanctions against the Ukrainian leadership.
“It will be done only if all EU countries see for themselves that the Ukrainian president no longer heeds the European Union’s opinion. There is an understanding in Brussels and the EU capitals that the sanctions regime promotes the country’s isolation and does not promote its democratization, which can be seen from the example of Belarus,” he emphasized.
According to him, in these conditions the introduction of financial restrictions by some EU countries against businessmen close to the Ukrainian government is more probable. In his view, the introduction of these sanctions “will not be publicly announced, but will make it possible to exert pressure on Kiev.