BRUSSELS, October 27 (RIA Novosti) — Permanent representatives to the European Union are set to discuss the situation in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia on Tuesday, though no decisions are planned to be made during the meeting, a EU diplomatic source told RIA Novosti Monday.
"The meeting of the permanent representatives will take place tomorrow, the question of Ukraine and sanctions is planned [for discussion] for the second half of the day," the source said, noting that the representatives "have no obligations to make any sort of decision, the sanctions were adopted for one year".
After the approval of the first round of sanctions against Russia, the European Union decided to review the effectiveness of these measures and consider possible changes by the end of October. EU foreign affairs spokesperson Maja Kocijancic confirmed to RIA Novosti that a meeting regarding this matter is to take place this week.
The previous meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives on the topic was held in late September. According to a EU source, the committee was divided in its views, as some representatives wished to ease the sanctions, while others believed that the measures should be scaled up. At the end, a decision was made not to alter the sanctions regime.
Last week, a number of EU foreign ministers stated that the current sanctions against Russia are optimal and should remain unchanged.
The European Union, alongside the United States, has imposed several rounds of economic sanctions on Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, claims Moscow has repeatedly denied. The sanctions target Russia's banking, defense and energy sectors, as well as certain individuals.
