REUTERS
The European Union sees no reason to relax the sanctions the union imposed on Russia following its illegal seizure of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea and its involvement in fomenting an insurgency in the east of Ukraine, a European diplomat has told UNIAN’s chief EU correspondent in Brussels.
The diplomat was speaking to UNIAN after a meeting of ambassadors of EU member states on the Committee of Permanent Representatives held in Brussels on Tuesday.
"Today's talks were the continuation of the discussion of the foreign ministers and the leaders of EU countries regarding sanctions,” the diplomat said.
“Based on the assessments made during the discussion, the permanent representatives agreed on the fact that presently there exist no reasons to change the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia," he said.
According to the diplomat, the EU will continue monitoring the situation in eastern Ukraine, particularly in terms of the implementation by Russia of the Minsk agreements.
Experts believe that under the sanctions, Russia’s economy will come under severe stress by mid to late next year.