NATO PA urges Allies to be prepared to toughen anti-Russian sanctions

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly has passed resolution 424 on economic sanctions against Russia, calling on the Allied governments and parliaments to be prepared to toughen the anti-Russian sanctions.

"The Assembly urges member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance to maintain the current sanctions regime on Russia concerning the situation in Eastern Ukraine as long as the Minsk agreements are not fully implemented, and to maintain the sanctions concerning Crimea/Sevastopol as long as the annexation is not ended; to be prepared to toughen these sanctions if Russia fails to meet its obligations under the Minsk agreements," the resolution reads.

It also calls on the Allies to demonstrate political and economic solidarity with those countries suffering from Russia's counter-sanctions and those non-NATO countries the economic and political freedom of which Russia now threatens; to counter Russia's highly misleading narrative about the nature of this conflict.

The Assembly also urged the NATO nations "to deny Russia the political leverage it seeks to exercise over the continent by diversifying Europe's energy supply base and enhancing energy interconnections, thus reducing its reliance on Russian oil and gas," the resolution said.

The resolution was presented by the Economics and Security Committee and adopted by the Plenary Assembly in Stavanger, Norway, on Monday, October 12, 2015.

NATO PA resolutions are political statements and are not formally binding, but they are taken into account by the NATO nations.