EU Not to Discuss Anti-Russia Sanctions Until March - Lithuanian President

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The European Union will not discuss sanctions against Russia until March, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Thursday.

“We’ll watch the implementation of the [Minsk] agreement; discussions on sanctions are impossible until March,” Grybauskaite told journalists before a European Council meeting in Brussels.

The announcement follows a reconciliation deal hammered out between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine specifying the measures needed to end the military confrontation between Kiev forces and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine. The negotiators agreed also on a joint declaration in support of the measures.

The European Union, the United States and a number of their allies imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict. The restrictions target the country's defense, energy and finance sectors, as well as several individuals.

Last month, EU foreign ministers decided to keep existing sanctions in force until September, but did not impose any new sanctions.

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers were supposed to expand the sanctions list by adding another 19 individuals and nine organizations to it. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the same day that EU foreign ministers postponed the implementation of a new round of sanctions until February 16.