In the early hours of 20 October, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said that the EU was not aiming to increase tension with the Russian Federation – and the European summit in the end preferred not to talk openly about the possibility of new sanctions(see EUROPE 11651).
"It is clear that Russia's strategy is to weaken the EU. We have a sober assessment of this reality, and no illusions. Increasing tensions with Russia is not our aim. We are simply reacting to steps taken by...