BRUSSEL: However, influential EU figures, such European Council President Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, advocated for the prolongation of sanctions at the December 14 EU summit, with Merkel underlining that lifting sanctions “would send the wrong signal” to Russian authorities, according to the EU Observer. The bloc introduced anti-Russian sanctions after the start of the Ukrainian crisis and Crimea’s reunification Russia in spring 2014. Western countries claim Russia has been meddling in Ukrainian internal affairs. Moscow, in its turn, denies this allegation, stressing that the referendum in Crimea was conducted in compliance with international law. The punitive measures limit Russia’s access to EU financial markets and target the country’s financial, energy and defense industries. Russia has responded by introducing a food embargo on countries that targeted it with restrictions, warning that the West’s sanctions are counterproductive.
Since the introduction of the sanctions, the EU has been prolonging them every six months. Brussels has linked the lifting of sanctions to the implementation of the 2015 Minsk Agreements that stipulate the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine and withdrawal of equipment from the frontline.
