31/03/2020 (Agence Europe) – In response to Russia's request for an easing of sanctions to better fight the COVID-19 crisis (see EUROPE 12456/34), the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, denounced "Russia's attempts to use the pandemic to achieve political goals". "No sanctions package imposed on Russia for its aggression in Crimea and Donbas does affect its ability to protect Russians from the coronavirus, or to contribute to global efforts to overcome the crisis", he said on 30 March. He called Russia’s "misuse" of the pandemic for political purposes and its calls to lift sanctions a "dirty manipulation". "The sanctions are a means of restoring respect for international law. The way to their removal lies through the cessation of the 7 years of aggression, rather than through the pandemic of a new virus", the minister said. (CG)