Foreign Ministry: Proliferation of sanctions - EU weakness indicator

The European Union, extending sanctions against Russia, once again demonstrates its weakness. This is stated in a statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted on the website of the department.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the decision of the EU countries was not a surprise. "The European Union once again showed its weakness and the inability to recognize the obvious - the linking of restrictions with the implementation of Moscow Minsk agreements is absurd," the report said.

According to the agency, sanctions against Russia have become an end in itself for the EU, "which," for lack of other worthy examples, wants to demonstrate his notorious unity at least in this area in every possible way. "

On the eve of the Summit of the EU countries extended sanctions for six months. This will be officially announced for several days. Restrictive measures will be valid from February 1 until July 31, 2017.

“We extended the sanctions for an additional period of six months. Some of the colleagues would have preferred for 12 months. But, ultimately, we did not talk about this,” TASS quoted the head of the European Council Donald Tusk.

According to him, the decision did not require discussion. "The extension of the EU sanctions against Russia in Ukraine did not require any discussion: the decision was already clear, and prepared by our ambassadors," Tusk said.

On the eve of the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel said that the reason for this decision was the lack of progress in resolving the situation in eastern Ukraine. “The President of France and I reported on the implementation of the Minsk agreements that it is slow,” she said. “Unfortunately, progress is not such that we could weaken the sanctions.”