EU’s Mogherini To Renew Russia Sanctions In July
MEP: European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Thursday that she expects to renew sanctions against Russia in Ukraine in July.
In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt Mogherini was asked if sanctions expiring in July would be extended, the former Italian foreign minister said: “I expect so.”
The EU imposed a series of sanctions on Russia in 2014 over allegations of Moscow’s interference in the separation of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine to rejoin Russia.
The 28-strong EU needs unanimity to extend the economic sanctions against Moscow.
In a text of her English-language answers provided by her office, Mogherini added: “EU heads of state or government had tied the lifting of the sanctions to a full implementation of the Minsk Agreements. So far, this has not been reached.”
Some EU countries have suggested sanctions might be eased in July in an effort to defuse tension with Moscow even though a peace deal struck at Minsk early last year has not ended the conflict in eastern Ukraine. However, Mogherini has emphasized that EU policy would not change yet, although later this year there should be a “substantive political evaluation” of how to move forward.
“There have always been different opinions on some elements of our sanction policy,” she said.
