New sanctions to be imposed on Russia despite Minsk agreements
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has confirmed it.
The new EU sanctions will be imposed on February 16. They will affect 19 physical and 9 legal entities, German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed to journalists in Brussels.
Other sanctions may be imposed on Russia if Minsk agreements are not realized, Merkel thinks.
“If everything is good, we will gladly assist in the process. But we do not exclude that more sanctions may be imposed if there are difficulties,” RIA Novosti quotes Angela Merkel.
The additional EU sanctions will come into force on February 16 despite the agreements reached in Minsk on February 12, European diplomatic sources reported earlier.
European diplomats were ready to refuse from the new sanctions after the negotiations. In particular, Finnish PM Alexander Stubb, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and French Minister for Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius expressed the opinion.
The restrictions will affect 19 Russians and Ukrainians and the accounts of nine companies will be frozen. The sanctions were approved by the EU Ministers on February 9 in connection with the late January attacks on Mariupol.
The EU Foreign Ministers prolonged the sanctions imposed at the end of March, 2014 on January 29. There are 132 people and 28 companies on the black list.
30 people were killed in the attack on Mariupol on January 24, Lenta.ru reports.
