EU May Cancel New Sanctions Against Russia Under Certain Conditions - Rompuy

The head of the European Council stated that the EU may soon abandon the new restrictive measures against Russia if the ceasefire in the east of Ukraine will be respected and peace negotiations will begin.

Censor.NET reports this citing Deutsche Welle.

The new EU package of sanctions against Russia, the adoption of which is scheduled for September 8, may be canceled soon enough, head of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said on Sunday, September 7. "If the ceasefire is maintained and/or the peace talks begin we are ready to cancel the sanctions," Rompuy said in an interview to Belgian TV channel VRT.

However, he noted that Russia may "hardly" be persuaded to serious negotiations and cease-fire is "important, but still the first and the only step made so far." Regarding violations of the ceasefire in Mariupol and Donetsk the head of the European Council said that more time is needed to see "whether more such incidents will occur or those cases were exceptions."

In any case, previously imposed sanctions proved to be efficient, Rompuy says. "The Russian economy is weakening. It is already regressing. This happens primarily due to the sanctions," the European politician said.