MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th June, 2021) The European Union has been reluctant to impose economic sanctions over fears of harming regular citizens and does not consider using this tool without valid reasons, the bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on Wednesday.
"In general, the European Union is quite reluctant to use economic sanctions because we affect the whole economy, and it means that we affect negatively ordinary people who are not responsible. We try to make the difference between the government and the people," Borrell said at a press conference.
In the case of Belarus, the diplomat noted that the sanctions were "triggered" by the Ryanair incident, and if it were not for the "hijack of the airplane" they would not have been placed.
He also stressed that the EU hopes to avoid further escalation of sanctions, including with Russia, "because it would mean that the relations would be continuing to deteriorate."
