“The situation is brought to the point of absurdity”: the European Union has extended sanctions against Russia

The EU extended economic sanctions against Russia for six months. The corresponding decision was made by EU leaders during the summit, said the head of the European Council, Charles Michel.

He noted that the EU leaders after the meeting in Paris in the "Norman format" heard a report by France and Germany on the issue of Russia and Ukraine.

“This was an occasion to discuss the situation in the region, as well as ... in order to decide on the extension of sanctions for another six months, since we are convinced that the implementation of the Minsk agreements remains one of the most important points,” he said.

Michelle added that the EU will continue to closely monitor their implementation in the future.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Alexei Chepa condemned the decision of the European Union to extend sanctions. He noted in an interview with RT that the EU continues to adhere to a sanctions policy instead of supporting peaceful progress.

“It would be right on the contrary to soften sanctions and give a green light to the entire Minsk movement. Let's hope that the Norman meetings on the Minsk agreements will lead to positive results and the issue of European sanctions will have to be removed, ”he concluded.

In turn, the head of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, commenting on RT’s decision to extend the sanctions again, said that the situation had been reduced to absurdity.

“There can be only one conclusion - the EU is still held hostage by the wrong, I would even say false, assessment of the reasons, and the course, and prospects for resolving the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine, and, accordingly, the reasons for the change in the status of Crimea. This assessment was developed on emotions, very superficially, back in 2014 and laid a very deep rut from which the European Union still cannot get out. It follows the then specified trajectory, regardless of what became clear after 2014 and what is really happening now. That is, the situation has been reduced to absurdity, ”he said.

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Kosachev drew attention to the fact that at meetings in the "Norman format" France and Germany are trying to get Ukraine to fulfill its part of the Minsk agreements, however, after the summit, they continue to place all responsibility on Russia.

He noted that this is a diametrical contradiction in the interpretation in Paris in the framework of the "Norman Four" and in Brussels.

“For me, the explanation for this is that for France and Germany, unfortunately, considerations of European solidarity and a desire to speak in unison with the most stringent critics of Russia are higher than the interests of resolving the conflict in Ukraine in essence. After all, the current decision, the extension of sanctions, pours another portion of gasoline into the fire that burns in the south-east of Ukraine, ”the senator said.

As Kosachev noted, thanks to such decisions, the Ukrainian authorities once again remain outside criticism and do not receive any motivation to fulfill their part of the Minsk agreements. At the same time, Kiev, according to the senator, instead of moving forward on this issue, continues to provoke a conflict between the EU and Russia.

“And something real will happen when Donetsk and Lugansk agree with the actions of Kiev. When they see that their rights and interests are protected through amendments to the Constitution, through the law on special status, through the law on amnesty, ”he said.

“Policies harmful to the EU economy”

Recall that the first package of anti-Russian sanctions was introduced in March 2014 after a referendum was held in Crimea, following which the peninsula reunited with Russia. The US and the EU have accused the Russian side of involvement in the deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Federation was forced to take retaliatory retaliatory measures against Western countries. At the same time, Moscow has repeatedly emphasized that it is not a party to the Ukrainian conflict.

The package of anti-Russian sanctions includes the freezing of assets and the introduction of visa restrictions for a number of persons, the prohibition of companies in countries that have imposed sanctions to conduct business relations with these individuals, as well as the termination of cooperation with a number of Russian organizations and other measures.

In September 2019, the European Union extended individual sanctions against Russia. Then the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the extension of restrictive measures a hackneyed plate.

Currently, sanctions have been imposed on 170 individuals and 44 legal entities.

The expert of the Presidential Council on Interethnic Relations, Bogdan Bezpalko, in conversation with RT called the next EU decision to extend restrictive measures expected and noted that so far there were no real preconditions for Europe to abandon sanctions. The expert recalled that the restrictions cause the EU damage of up to 1 billion euros per month, and also cause inconvenience to the Russian side, however, Europe continues to be harmful to its own economy. Bezpalko added that Moscow took all the steps that should have been satisfied with the structures of the European Union.

“We returned the ships, we returned the prisoners, we met in the Norman format, we confirmed our loyalty to the Minsk agreements. But the sanctions for some reason remain and are extended for six months, ”he said.

The expert expressed the opinion that Ukraine will try to evade the execution of the summit’s decisions in the “Norman format”, or it will require a review of the provisions of the Minsk agreements, which will make it impossible to lift the sanctions or condition their extension.