Russia cannot win the economic war that will emerge if the EU puts in place a third stage of sanctions, Minister of Foreign Affairs János Martonyi told public Kossuth Radio on 13 March 2014.

Minister Martonyi gave an exclusive interview before the meeting of the foreign ministers of Visegrád countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia), at which they will coordinate their positions before next Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers. The V4 has been acting in unity throughout in connection with the Ukrainian crisis, Mr. Martonyi said. Visegrád countries have strong ties with Germany and it is also important to hold separate talks with the German foreign minister, he added.

Talks will centre on the issue of a fast and effective response to the events in Ukraine. The V4 position is that a political part of the accession pact must be created to give a clear message that the Ukrainian government is legitimate and needs fast help to tackle the current crisis. In addition, Ukraine must receive unilateral trade concessions from the EU and the visa liberalisation process must also be expedited, he added. The formulation of a financial package is already under way, he said.

At the same time, sanctions must also be addressed, as it is likely that they would enter the second stage soon, which means travel restrictions and freezing the assets of certain persons. There are however positive signs that talks may get under way, he added.

It is an important question whether the third stage of sanctions, raised at last week’s meeting of the European Council, would be considered, as this would have a serious impact on every party and even Russian President Vladimir Putin must have no doubt that Russia cannot win the emerging economic war in the long run, Mr. Martonyi said.

Last week a summit of EU heads of state and government agreed to a three-stage plan of sanctions against Russia for its incursion in Ukraine. The first level of sanctions involved a suspension of talks with Russia on easing visa conditions and on a new partnership agreement. The second stage, which the EU is threatening to put in place if peaceful talks don’t commence within days, involves targeted travel bans and asset freezes as well as the cancellation of the next EU–Russia summit. The third level of sanctions would involve wide-scale economic and trade sanctions.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)