EU keeps Russia sanctions

The EU Ministers decided to keep the sanctions imposed on Russia after it had annexed Crimea and started supporting separatists in Donets Basin. The situation in Ukraine has aggravated a lot recently, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini claimed.

The EU Ministers expect Russia to start fulfilling the peaceful agreements it supported in September.

Some of the sanctions may be lifted only if the situation in East Ukraine starts improving, the head of European diplomats claimed.

Mogherini used to suggest dividing the sanctions into ‘Crimean’ and ‘Donets Basin’ earlier. If Moscow had started playing a more constructive part in East Ukraine, some of the sanctions could have been lifted. However, the suggestion resulted in a negative reaction of a number of EU member states.

The position of EU member states is unanimous now, Mogherini stressed.