EU Keeps Sanctions in Place Against Russia
The European Union said on Friday it will keep sanctions in place against Russia, adding it expects Moscow to respect Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It also asked the Russian Federation to support the political stabilisation and economic recovery of Kiev.
‘The European Council recalled previous EU decisions on restrictive measures. It will remain seized with the situation in Ukraine in order to provide further direction as required,’ reads the document reporting the conclusions adopted by the European Council on Thursday and Friday.
Brussels also welcomed progress in the resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, saying it expects the finalisation of ongoing trilateral negotiations.
On Friday, Germany’s Angela Merkel had a telephone conversation with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
‘Following on from the talks in Milan on October 16-17, the two leaders continued discussing the situation with the conflict in Ukraine. Mr Putin emphasised the need to deescalate the situation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, above all through a genuine ceasefire, guaranteed security along the line separating the parties to the conflict, and provision of urgent humanitarian aid,’ reads the Kremlin press release. The parts expressed ‘hope’ that an agreement would be reached in Brussels on October 29.
European Commissioner Günther Oettinger, whose main task in the last month was to broker the deal between Ukraine and Russia, will leave office on November 1.
Meanwhile, Russian authorities are also trying to defuse tensions with Eastern European countries. Gazprom’s Alexei Miller met with Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Russian Federation.
‘The parties addressed the key issues of bilateral cooperation in the gas sector. In particular, they discussed Russian natural gas supplies to Poland as well as its transit via the Polish section of the Yamal – Europe gas pipeline. It was pointed out that Poland was the largest consumer of Russian natural gas in Central Europe and an important transit route to consumers in Western Europe.’