Germany opens door to sanctions against Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russia on Friday, October 7 to use its influence with the Syrian government to end the devastating bombardment of Aleppo, as her government opened the door to possible sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict, Reuters reports.

In some of her harshest comments to date, Merkel said there was no basis in international law for bombing hospitals and Moscow should use its influence with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the bombing of civilians.

"Russia has a lot of influence on Assad. We must end these atrocious crimes," Merkel told party members in Magdeburg. She did not address sanctions directly, but said the international community needed to do all it could to bring about a halt in the fighting and get supplies to civilians.

Merkel's chief spokesman Steffen Seibert, speaking at a regular news conference, declined to rule out possible sanctions against Russia for its part in the conflict, but said Berlin's top priority remained a ceasefire to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the civilian population.

Seibert said Western officials discussed the Syrian conflict in Berlin on Wednesday and those discussions were continuing.

A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters on Wednesday that there were no formal proposals to impose sanctions on Russia over its role in Syria, but the issue has received growing attention in recent days.