The European Union decided not to lift the sanctions against Russia

The EU foreign ministers decided to continue the policy towards Russia and, in particular, to maintain the sanctions imposed in response to the annexation of the Crimea and the support of the separatists in the Donbas. EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that the situation in Ukraine has recently deteriorated markedly.

EU foreign ministers have decided to stick with the current political course until Russia begins to implement the peace agreements that it supported in September.

“Foreign Ministers believe sanctions pressure on Russia should remain in place until it begins to contribute to the peace process in Ukraine,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tweeted.

The 28 countries of the European Union introduced economic sanctions against Russia in several stages in response to the annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

“No split”

The head of EU diplomacy stated that any easing of sanctions against Russia is possible only after the situation in eastern Ukraine improves.

According to Mogherini, the intensification of hostilities in the Donbass is bad news, and the foreign ministers of the European Union countries are not going to take any measures to lift the sanctions.

Earlier, Mogherini in the leaked message to EU ministers proposed to distinguish between sanctions imposed in response to the annexation of the Crimea and applied because of the support of Donbass separatists. In the event that Moscow starts to play a more constructive role in the east of Ukraine, this part of the sanctions could be canceled, it followed from an officially not confirmed document.

This proposal caused a negative reaction from a number of EU countries that are taking a tough stance against Moscow.

Mogherini stressed that the position of the EU countries remains unanimous. "Those who expected a split in our ranks today will be a little disappointed," she said, according to BBC News.