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Spain FM: EU to extend sanctions against Russia

Wednesday, 02 December 2015 5:44 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 December 2015 5:44 PM ]

The file photo shows Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo (L) and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. (AFP Photo)

Spain’s foreign minister has said the European Union will likely extend its economic sanctions imposed on Russia for another six months.

"The European Union is likely to prolong economic sanctions against Russia for another six months," Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said on Wednesday.

"There is a general consensus to go with six," Garcia-Margallo told journalists in Brussels, Belgium, on the margins of a meeting with his counterparts from NATO member states. "We are on board," he added.

During a brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, on November 16, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who represented President Francois Hollande, agreed to uphold pressure on Russia until July next year.

(L to R) Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius attend a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey, November 16, 2015. (AFP Photo)

The economic sanctions against Moscow began in the summer of 2014, after then Ukraine's Crimea voted in a referendum to rejoin the Russian Federation. The move prompted two pro-Russia regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine's east to announce independence from Kiev, causing a deadly war between the two sides. The West accuses Russia of supporting the militants, Moscow denies the accusation.

The EU says removing the sanctions could take place if a ceasefire deal is struck in eastern Ukraine. Previous truce deals have failed so far. In a tit-for-tat move, Russia has also slapped the EU with economic sanctions.

The EU's current economic sanctions are due to expire on January 31, 2016.

Despite reports on extending the sanctions, observers say it is not clear if the idea has secured unanimous support among all the 28 EU member states, which is needed for the sanctions to be prolonged.

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