European Union leaders warned Russia at a summit on Thursday that they will consider sanctions over its role in the Syrian conflict if Moscow does not stop "crimes" in the devastated city of Aleppo. As the bloc's 28 leaders met in Brussels for a crucial discussion on their future strategy to deal with Moscow, EU President Donald Tusk said they should "keep all options open, including sanctions".
The leaders of France and Germany had given a similar sanctions warning after holding talks in Berlin with President Vladimir Putin on the eve of the Brussels summit. A draft summit statement said the EU was weighing sanctions against supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime if they fail to stop atrocities, although it did not mention Russia by name.
"The EU should keep all options open, including sanctions if the crimes continue," Tusk said as he arrived for the summit. British Prime Minister Theresa May, arriving for her first EU summit since the June Brexit vote, called for a united European approach to "sickening atrocities" in Syria, "We must show a robust and united European stance in the face of Russian aggression," May told reporters. "It is vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop its appalling atrocities, its sickening atrocities in Syria."
Russia had upstaged the summit by announcing earlier in the week that it would halt hostilities over Aleppo on Thursday just as the 28 leaders were gathering in Brussels. It said Thursday it would extend the truce by 24 hours, without specifying when it would end. The UN had said earlier it had received a pledge from Moscow to extend it until Saturday. But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said only a permanent cease-fire was acceptable. "What is happening in Aleppo with Russian support is completely inhuman," she told reporters.
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