Madrid - The European Union is to decide whether the West's sanctions impact on the Russian political system and its attitude towards the Ukraine crisis, said EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, who took office in November this year.
The issue of sanctions is still on the table of EU foreign ministers, she said adding that they might be suspended, softened, or toughened.
It is clear that the restrictive measures have impact on Russia from the economic point of view, Mogherini said in an interview with La Stampa Italian edition.
According to Italy’s foreign minister, the EU needs to understand whether Minsk Agreements can bring results or not in peace settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
It is an open question, whose answer is mainly in the hands of the Russians, she said.
Mogherini said that this week she talked to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Since February there has been an escalation on the ground followed by numerous attempts at diplomatic solution: from Geneva up to in Minsk, where they found reasons for hope, with the first protocol accepted by all, Mogherini said adding that now she wants to see if this line of dialogue is still open.
She said she believes there is still sufficient political will to move forward – certainly in Ukraine, which worked hard, but it is necessary to find out if Russians are ready for cooperation.
The words of Moscow are very different from ours. For us, the vote is illegitimate and illegal. On the other hand, Russia has talked about “respect”, not “recognition”, which would suggest room for maneuver, EU foreign policy chief summed up.
