The European Union could agree to consider lifting its sanctions from Russia if the situation in the east of Ukraine improves and if the Minsk Agreements are implemented, newly appointed Spanish Ambassador in Moscow Ignacio Ybanez Rubio said.
“If the Minsk accords are implemented, the European Union will certainly take it into consideration as it decides in the future whether to lift sanctions. The sanctions themselves are not a goal. The sanctions are aimed at changing the attitude. If the situation changes and tensions subside in the east of Ukraine, if all of the parties fulfill everything envisaged by the Minsk Agreements, this will certainly be taken into account, and, in the end, it will be possible to eat Spanish jamon in Russia,” the ambassador said in an interview with Interfax.
Hopefully, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini’s recent visit to Moscow would give a start to dialogue between the EU and Moscow, even though the EU’s stance on Ukraine remained unchanged, he said.
“I think that the European Union’s position will remain the same as before with regard to the crisis in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which oblige all of the signatories to these accords, including the Russian Federation and Ukraine, to abide by them,” he said.
“The visit by the high representative of the European Union is wonderful news. This is really something that Madrid supports because Spain has always thought that the most important thing in our relations with Russia is dialogue. And dialogue does not always mean that there is a mutual understanding, that both sides always agree with each other on everything. But it always indicates that both sides believe that dialogue is more important than confrontation with each other,” the ambassador said.
