EU members call for sanctions against Russia
Members of European Parliament (MEPs) have called for heightened sanctions against Russia in response to its "unwillingness" to prevent arms flows to the Ukraine. 
In a debate with Ukraine’s foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin today to discuss policy after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash, MEPs insisted the Russia-Ukraine border be closed and that crash victims' bodies be returned to families.
"Ukraine’s security services should have full control over the border to ensure that the flow of arms from Russia can be dried up," said Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Elmar Brok (European People's Party, Germany).
Brok said the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin left open no "possibility of finding a political solution", and therefore the EU should proceed with much stronger sanctions against the world's largest nation.
Klimkin called on the EU to show its solidarity now as Ukraine was "being punished for its EU aspirations", claiming the crash was not just an incident but a "vicious narrative" for the whole continent.
"Before we were talking about self-defence of inhabitants of eastern Ukraine, whereas now it’s clear that we are dealing with Russian-backed terrorists," Klimkin said.
He said the Ukraine government was ready to engage in discussions with "the real people of Donetsk" but "the Russian terrorists have to go back to Russia".
MEPs called for a united line between EU member states on tougher sanctions towards Russia, not as a consequence of the plane crash, but in reaction to the Russian authorities' unwillingness to control the flow of arms and heavy weapons across the border to the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Some also criticized France for training Russian solidiers, given that hundreds of Dutch people had lost their lives in the plane crash.
"My government will not stop until justice is done,"said Dutch Ambassador Peter De Gooijer.
De Gooijer said his government's top priority was to have the victims' bodies returned home, and then conduct an independent investigation.
The Dutch representative deplored the disrespectful way in which the bodies of the victims had been treated and said that this would not be forgotten by his people.
A minute's silence was given before the debate for the July 17 crash victims.
Photo: www.shutterstock.com
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