EU faces ‘difficult’ talks on Russia sanctions: Germany

Vilnius, lithuania / AFP

Germany says the EU is facing difficult talks on extending sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine due to the increased resistance of some member states, according to an interview released on Thursday.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also told the Baltic News Service (BNS) that the West needed to engage in dialogue with Russia to “rebuild” lost trust and tackle crises in Syria and Libya.
Steinmeier, who is to hold talks in Vilnius and Riga on Thursday with Baltic partners Lithuania and Latvia focused on NATO’s July summit in Warsaw, said “we are aware that resistance in the EU to extending the sanctions towards Russia has increased.
“It will be more difficult than it was last year to find a common position on this issue,” he added.
Steinmeier did not single out specific EU countries resisting continued sanctions, but Italy and Hungary have been among the most sceptical while Poland and the Baltic states have repeatedly pressed for maintaining pressure on Moscow.
Current EU sanctions on Russia’s banking, defence and energy sectors expire in July. Extending them will require a unanimous vote, and EU leaders are expected to discuss the issue next month.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told a German daily last week she expects an extension of the sanctions.
Steinmeier told BNS that Germany would “work hard to ensure that Europe presents a united front on this question”, adding that penalties remain “inextricably linked” to the peace deal over eastern Ukraine.