Brussels, 30/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Finding an agreement on extending the European economic sanctions on Russia after 31 July 2016 will be more complicated than previously, according to Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier - but an agreement should nevertheless be reached, according to several European sources.
“We are aware that resistance has increased in the EU with regard to extending the sanctions on Russia”, Steinmeier said on Thursday 26 May, as quoted by Lithuanian news agency BNS. “It will be harder than last year to find a common position on this issue”, he added. A spokesperson from the German ministry of foreign affairs also said on 27 May that Germany would support the gradual lifting of sanctions against Russia should progress be made in implementing the Minsk agreements.
However, according to several European sources, the sanctions will be extended. “I think they will be extended” an EU diplomat said, while confirming that a few member states wanted to assess the sanctions. “My assessment is that today the Minsk agreements are not being fully implemented and my assessment and prediction is that they will not be implemented before the end of June. So the logical decision is that they will be extended”, he said. According to the same diplomat, the extension will be for six months - which is the “usual format”.
The G7, to which four EU member states belong (France, Germany, Italy and the UK) and to which the EU is associated, said on Friday 27 May that the length of the sanctions is clearly linked to full implementation of the Minsk agreements and to Russia's respect of Ukraine's sovereignty (see EUROPE 11560). While, for one European source, this statement will facilitate the European decision, for another, “it will not be as simple”, given the statements of the different leaders. In several other member states, voices are being raised to lift, or at least ease, the sanctions. The latest voice in this direction was that of Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who spoke out on 27 May about the current “vicious circle of sanctions, militarisation and cold war rhetoric”, when he hosted Russia's president, Vladimir Putin.
The discussions on the sanctions have not yet started at European level, several sources have told EUROPE. In their view, the discussions could take place directly at Coreper level, where the ambassadors will discuss both the follow-up to be given to the sanctions, and also how to move forward on these sanctions - for example, with a discussion at the level of heads of state and government at the European Council on 28-29 June. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)