Greek uncertainty overshadows EU decision on Russia sanctions

By Robin Emmott and Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greece's new leftist government exasperated its EU allies on Thursday at negotiations over extending sanctions against Russia, leaving the other 27 member states guessing as to whether it would support new sanctions or veto them. The foreign ministers of the 28 EU member states were summoned to Brussels for an emergency meeting on Thursday after pro-Russian rebels launched a new advance last week. NATO says the advance - which included the shelling of the port city of Mariupol by rebels on Saturday that Kiev said killed 30 civilians - is backed by Russian troops on the ground and destroyed a five-month-old ceasefire. Leaders of several EU countries and officials of the bloc itself in Brussels have said the new offensive must be met by an extension of existing sanctions which were due to expire, as well as new measures to intensify the pressure on Moscow. EU officials had already drawn up an agreement in advance of Thursday's meeting for the ministers to endorse, which would extend sanctions by six months and authorise new steps. These could include capital markets restrictions making it harder for Russian companies to refinance and possibly affecting Russian sovereign bonds, EU officials have told Reuters. But Greece's new Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has complained about the bloc taking decisions without consulting his government first. Officials in the new Greek government have given conflicting statements about their position. "We will see in the course of the day how the discussion develops. It is no secret that the new stance of the Greek government has not made today's debate any easier," Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. Ukraine's foreign minister, Pavlo Klimkin, said ministers from EU countries had told him they were "ready to prepare a bold and robust statement about supporting Ukraine, about further ideas how to increase pressure on Russia also in the sense of possible restrictive measures." He said he would meet the Greek foreign minister later on Thursday. "HAVE A GOOD TIME" Greece's new leader Tsipras has not made his own position clear. His Syriza party has its roots in leftwing movements, some of which were sympathetic to Moscow during the Cold War, and Russia's ambassador was the first foreign official the new leader met after taking office on Monday. But Greece is also a NATO member that has long valued its role in the Western alliance. Many Greeks sympathise with Russia, but also with Ukraine. Asked by reporters what Greece's intentions were, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on his arrival: "I have to make negotiations ... have a good time." In a statement, Kotzias said some EU peers had tried to present Greece with an unacceptable fait accompli by issuing a statement on Ukraine on Tuesday without Greece's agreement. "Anyone who thinks that in the name of debt Greece will renounce its sovereignty and its active participation in European policy making is making a mistake," the statement said. The 28-member EU must take all decisions on sanctions unanimously, and agreeing last year's measures to punish Russia, the bloc's main energy supplier, was difficult. But the EU ultimately decided to act after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, and Brussels tightened its measures after blaming Moscow for backing rebels fighting for territory the Kremlin calls "New Russia" in a war that has so far killed 5,000 people. A five-month-old ceasefire had led to some discussion about whether it was time to lift sanctions or allow them to lapse. But the apparent rejection of the truce by Moscow-backed rebels in the past week has led to calls for more measures. Last year's EU sanctions, along with sanctions imposed by Washington and by other Western countries, have contributed to an economic crisis in Russia also hit by falling prices for its energy exports. The talks on sanctions are a first test of Tsipras's ability to negotiate with European partners ahead of what are expected to be difficult discussions about on Greece's own debt. Tsipras was elected primarily on a vow to repudiate the austerity economics championed by Berlin and imposed by Brussels as a condition of a loan bailout. Without new loans from the EU, Greece would default on its debt and could be cast out of the euro zone and the EU itself. What is still unclear is whether the new Greek government actually opposes the Russia sanctions, or simply wants to ensure its views are heard before any decision is taken. Greece's energy minister said on Wednesday that Athens was against further steps against Moscow. But on Thursday, the new finance minister suggested in a blog post that Greece's stance had been misinterpreted. The suggestion that Greece might be using its support for sanctions as a bargaining chip for debt relief angered some ministers, particularly those of the Baltic nations adjacent to Russia, which have been most alarmed by events in Ukraine. "There are things that are not for trade-offs," said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. "People are being killed everyday ... it is not just a game, this is not just tactics." (Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels and George Georgiopoulosin Athens; Editing by Peter Graff)