“There are really no reasons why the European policy direction should be changed. On the contrary, the military escalation continues and the Minsk Agreements are practically not implemented, and that’s the basis for the extension of the sanctions for a longer period,” Grybauskaitė told journalists in Vilnius.
She refused, however, to speculate as to whether European leaders would decide to tighten the sanctions. It will depend on Russia’s actions, Grybauskaitė added.
In mid-July 2014, the European Union imposed sanctions against Russia’s financial, arms and energy sectors for the country’s involvement in the Ukraine war. They followed the crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane which was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
At the start of this year, EU foreign ministers extended the sanctions, imposed last March, against Russian citizens who are subject to restrictive measures. The latter sanctions were introduced after Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
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