MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova – On Wednesday, the French Senate passed by overwhelming majority a resolution calling on the government to ease sanctions against Russia. Although the resolution is not legally binding, the document will be sent to the French government for consideration.
"For the first time a national European parliament reviewed the issue of sanctions. It showed that the public opinion is not along with the European opinion," Yves Pozzo di Borgo said.
He added that this vote is a major political move for France and for Europe.
"France’s opinion on a mater is taken seriously by the European Council as Paris is a principal actor of the Minsk accords," the senator said.
Since 2014, the European Union, the United States and their allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations of Kremlin's alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict — a claim that Moscow has repeatedly denied.