NATO Secretary General: Sanctions against Russia should remain in force
The EU should maintain the sanctions against Russia which were imposed as a result of the Russia’s actions in Ukraine, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He made these comments the day after German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized NATO for holding the recent Anakonda-2016 military exercises and “antagonizing Russia”.
“In my opinion the sanctions should not be lifted while Russian does not change its attitude. I believe that the EU has a wide consensus on this issue,” Stoltenberg said in an interview with Reuters.
Following the remarks of the General Secretary,the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Marc Ayrault, stated that the sanctions against Russia will be extended for another six months.
The decision to extend the sanctions against the Crimea was recently made by the EU.
The economic sanctions against Russian were initially introduced in 2014 as a result of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimea. Moscow retaliated by introducing an import embargo on food products produced in the countries that supported the sanctions against Russia.