German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed in Brussels on June 28 that the European Union would maintain its economic sanctions against Russia, although resolve in some big EU states on the issue appears to be weakening.
The EU first imposed economic sanctions against Russia in July 2014 and in March 2015 “the European Council linked the duration of those economic restrictions to the complete implementation of the Minsk agreements,” EU official website states.
EU frozen assets and applied visa bans to 149 persons with 37 entities are subject to a freeze of their assets in the EU, those responsible for action against Ukrainian territorial integrity. According to the EU website, within non-recognition policy of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, EU Council bans imports of good from peninsula, investment, provision of tourism services etc.
The EU economic sanctions also targeted five major state-owned Russia banks, three major Russia energy companies, and three major Russia defence companies, among many other major entities.
Both Merkel and French President Francois Hollande earlier stated that the sanctions issue was tied to the implementation of the Minsk peace agreement, the first point of which – a ceasefire – has not been observed for the nearly 16 months since the most recent Minsk accords were signed.
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will inform us about their assessment of the implementation of the Minsk agreement,” President of the European Council Donald Tusk said at the opening of the latest EU summit on June 28, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported.
At the summit, Merkel said the sanctions are “sadly necessary” as long as there was no ceasefire in the Donbas.
However, there were reports that while the EU has previously only reviewed the sanctions issue once a year, Italy has asked that they be reviewed again before the end of the current year.
And speaking at the summit, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko noted that Ukrainian diplomats had work to do to ensure the EU’s sanctions against Russia are extended.
“We’re absolutely sure that we are being heard, and the decision should be positive,” Poroshenko was quoted as saying on his official website. “But in any case, we cannot say that everything is already decided – the struggle must be carried out until the last minute.”
Poroshenko thanked European leaders for their assistance and strong support, following dicussions in Brussels about the “Brexit” referendum on the United Kingdom leaving the EU, and its effect on EU-Ukraine relations.
Poroshenko tweets on June 27: “The Ukraine-EU Summit has a great symbolic meaning. This is the first meeting with the EU leaders after the referendum in Great Britain.” He continued: “This demonstrates the attention the EU pays to Ukraine, and its importance.”
While French President Francois Hollande told Poroshenko during the Ukrainian president’s visit to Paris on June 21 that only with the fulfillment of the Minsk Protocol could sanctions against Russia be gradually eased, there are signs that many politicians in France do not agree.
The French Senate approved a resolution on easing sanctions against Russia on June 8 with 302 senators voting for, and 16 against.
The resolution is “the white flag that Putin has been waiting for for two years,” French Senator Claude Malhuret was quoted as saying in a tweet from the Ukrainian embassy in France’s Twitter account on June 8.
However, the EU is still expected to prolong the economic sactions against Russia in response to the Kremlin’s continued military actions in the east of Ukraine.
The EU leaders’ summit is being held in Brussels on June 28-29.
