The June 22 decision by the European Union that included asset freezes on some Russian companies and individuals as well as travel bans was prompted by Russia’s destabilizing role in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s actions in Crimea since its annexation. Italy, Bulgaria and Greece are keen to see some sanctions lifted. Both sides say they will not be dragged into a new arms race and what is happening is not a new cold war.
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In retaliation for the sanctions, Russian Federation has placed bans on some food imports from the West. Russia has also been slapped with a separate set of sanctions over reintegration of Crimea, a former Ukrainian peninsula which joined the Russian Federation after a referendum on March 16, 2014. “But we cannot exclude that, given the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements [on bringing peace to East Ukraine], the decision to extend the sanctions will be made at the council of foreign ministers without debate”.
“We hold no grudge and we are willing to reach out to our European partners”, Putin said at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, “but, obviously, this can not be one-sided”.
The European Union needs to engage with Russian Federation despite the painful sanctions exchanged over the past two years, a top EU official said Thursday during a rare visit that included Western oil executives eager to re-establish relations and sign new deals.
Russian Federation was kicked out of the so-called Group of Eight, the world’s wealthiest nations, shortly after it annexed Crimea.
The six-month extension involves the harsh oil, financial and defense sanctions imposed on Moscow.
At the same time, according to the Russian central bank figures, total foreign direct investment into Russia, a significant share of which originates from the European Union, also collapsed from USD60.6 billion in 2013 to USD4.3 billion in 2015 or by 93%.
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The conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed some 9,400 lives and plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze.
