Europe has no plans to sanction Russian over Aleppo

Germany said it is unlikely to tighten sanctions on Russia over the country's brutal bombardment of Syria's war-torn city of Aleppo.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

05 October, 2016

Protestors met in Berlin over the weekend to demonstrate against the bombing in Aleppo [Anadolu]

A spokesperson for Germany's foreign ministry said there are no plans for new sanctions on Russia over Moscow's bombing of rebel-held parts of Aleppo.

The announcement comes as Western officials meet to discuss Syria in the Germany capital following weeks of air raids and ground offensives by Russian and regime forces in Aleppo.

Reuters reported that officials from the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany will meet today to discuss a solution to the conflict.

"At the moment, I know no-one, either in Berlin or anywhere else, who has such proposals," the spokesperson said.

A new petition, signed by more than 100 academics, was launched on Monday, calling for sanctions against Russia in response to their involvement in the bombing of Aleppo.

Syrian activists have called on the West to take tougher action against Russia for air raids on Aleppo which have left hundreds of civilians, including establishing a no-fly zone.

New EU sanctions on Russia were issued in 2014 for Russia's support for Ukrainian separatists, and followed previous embargos after Moscow annexed the Crimea region.