The European Union cannot admit that the anti-Russian sanctions it imposed have not only failed, but have also significantly harmed the economies of European countries.
This was stated to "Izvestia" the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Affairs Department, Vladislav Maslennikov.
“The EU cannot find the strength to admit that its sanctions policy has failed, that the Westerners have caused significant damage to their own economy, and they do not want to be held accountable to their population for this”, he said.
Maslennikov noted that "one can hardly expect an automatic lifting of EU sanctions after the end of the Ukrainian conflict". He specified that Hungary and Slovakia are the most consistent in opposing the tightening of sanctions against Russia, but the influence of these countries is not enough to "completely stop Brussels' sanctions policy".
On May 20, the European Union adopted the 17th package of sanctions against Russia, blacklisting 17 individuals and 58 companies, as well as 189 tankers carrying Russian oil and oil products, refusing to follow Brussels' demands to maintain a ceiling on Russian oil prices at $60 per barrel.