France wants anti-Russian sanctions lifted - BBC
London - Kyiv, January 05 (PolitNavigator, Vasily Ablyazimov) - French President Francois Hollande wants the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions, reports today with the BBC. He was supported by German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
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French President Francois Hollande, reports the BBC, is confident that if progress is made in negotiations on the conflict in Ukraine, sanctions should be lifted. Hollande said that Putin, in personal communications with him, said that he “does not want to annex eastern Ukraine.”
The French President was also supported by the German Vice-Chancellor. Sigmar Gabriel warned against further sanctions against Russia. He said that some forces in Europe want to continue sanctions not for a positive solution to the Ukrainian conflict, but in order to “cripple Russia.” Gabriel is confident that such a policy risks leading to “a fire in Europe.”
“We want to help resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but not push Russia to its knees,” the vice chancellor said in an interview with Bild newspaper today.
“These are not the first statements about easing sanctions by European politicians. Politicians in Italy, Hungary and Slovakia are among those who want sanctions to be eased,” reports the BBC.
Many EU countries depend on Russian gas imports, so the sanctions have raised new concerns about energy security.
Russia's retaliatory ban on most imported food products also hit many European firms hard. The economic situation in Europe was also negatively affected by the decline in the number of tourists from Russia.
“Sanctions must be lifted if there is progress. If there is no progress, the sanctions will remain in place,” Hollande said in an interview with French radio. He confirmed that the France-Germany-Russia-Ukraine summit will be held in Astana on January 15th.
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