MOSCOW (Sputnik) – An overwhelming majority of European Union member states have called confronting Russia over the situation in Ukraine a mistake, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Last week, the European Union extended economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, citing the failure to fully implement the Minsk peace accords on Ukrainian reconciliation. On Thursday, Brussels said it saw no reason or necessity to expand the "Crimean sanctions" against Moscow.
“Sometimes what they say from the podium contradicts what they tell you one on one when no one’s listening.
Individually, an overwhelming majority of European Union members have told me things I believe to be reasonable that it is a mistake to confront Russia over Ukraine which itself became somewhat of a victim in the European Union’s policy, which attempted to put [Ukraine] in the position of having to make a decision: either-or,” Lavrov told Russia’s Zvezda television channel in an interview.
Following the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014 and the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis later that year, Russia's relations with the West began to deteriorate.
As a punitive measure, the West imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow, beginning in July 2014.
On Monday, the European Union prolonged its economic sanctions against Russia for another six months. Following the move, the United States extended its anti-Russian sanctions by targeting 34 individuals and entities on Tuesday.
