(Newswire.net — March 20, 2015) Brussels, EU — European Council President Donald Tusk announced at a press conference after the EU summit in Brussels, that the decision to lift sanctions against the Russian Federation will be linked to the full implementation of the Minsk agreement. However, there will be no automatic-extension of anti-Russian sanctions, according to Tusk.
The embargo against Russia could be prolonged until the end of 2015 if the Ukraine war crisis continues despite the Minsk cease-fire agreement. “We have to maintain our sanctions until the Minsk agreement is fully implemented,” Tusk said.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel confirmed that any decision on further anti-Russia sanctions depends on the situation in Ukraine, and whether it develops positively or negatively.
Rule compliance, however, is up to Kiev who has the power to stop or prolong the situation in the region. According to the Minsk agreement, Kiev has to ensure decentralization and special permanent privileges for its rebel provinces the Lugansk and Donetsk, which have currently self-declared as independent republics. The Russian backed rebels have to leave it’s independency tendentious and accept special privileges as part of Ukraine.
Interestingly though, the agreement says nothing about Crimea. Russian annexation of Crimea was a direct cause for the US lead alliance to impose the sanctions. On the other hand, EU leaders are aware of the fact that Crimea is of strategic importance to Russians who once owned the territory and built a large military base on it.
The key decision on whether to prolong sanctions, which requires unanimity in EU parliament, will likely be taken up in the “nearest months”, the European Council said.
The decision to link the embargo extension to the Minsk agreement, however, does not mean the extension will occur, it was only the signal of determination of the EU to secure a full implementation of the Minsk agreement, a European diplomatic source told TASS News.
“Of course, this common position will affect the discussion on the renewal of sanctions at the next EU summit [in June], however, it does not predetermine the next meeting’s decisions,” the diplomat said.
The economies of member countries of EU also suffer greatly because of the economic sanctions against the Russian Federation, especially France and Germany, who led the cease-fire and peace talks which occurred in Minsk.