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MOSCOW, September 12 (RIA Novosti), Anastasia Levchenko - As the European Union has imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, first analyses on the future repercussions appear in the Western media with some praising Europe's US-backed decision and others cautioning against the negative effects of sanctions to western economies, and underlining Russia's re-orientation to the East and Ukraine's to the West.

CONCERTED WESTERN EFFORT

The Guardian reported on Friday that "the latest sanctions are designed to keep up pressure on Russia, which denies sending troops into eastern Ukraine and arming the separatists. Moreover, the US is understood to be planning to limit access to Russian banks, including Sberbank, later on Friday as part of a concerted western effort to penalize what it sees as Russian attempts to destabilize Ukraine by backing pro-Russia separatists with troops and weapons."

The joint European position fully corresponds to American line of reasoning. ABC News cites Martin Schulz, European Parliament President, as saying at a conference in Kiev on Friday that the new round of sanctions was a sign to Moscow that there will be "no return to business as usual." In response to that, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko thanked EU countries for "their solidarity with Ukraine".

President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy stated that The Permanent Representatives Committee or Coreper will assess the implementation of the peace plan in Ukraine by the end of the month. Sanctions could be amended, suspended or repealed in whole or in part depending on the conclusions of this assessment, according to the Prague Post.

"The new EU sanctions introduced today certainly take things to a tougher level," CNN quotes Sunny Mann, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie, as saying. "At the same time, there is a signal that the EU is prepared to roll things back if the current crisis is de-escalated."

The New York Times reports Poroshenko as saying it would be "impolite" for the European Union not to take the next step, known as "accession partnership" and designed to steer toward membership. Ukraine is expected to ratify an association agreement with the European Union next Tuesday.

STEP TO THE WEST, STEP TO THE EAST

ABC News underlines how Ukraine welcomes the new sanctions and even expresses gratitude and thus cites Poroshenko thanking EU countries for "their solidarity with Ukraine".

AFP emphasizes that "Ukraine looks West" and makes steps to "cement" Kiev's ties with the European Union and Washington.

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Western Media on Anti-Russia Sanctions: Nobody Stands to Win in This Tit-for-Tat Battle