The EU should abandon the six-month extension of penalties Against Russia And to prolong the punishment once a year, said the former NATO Secretary General, and now Advisor to the President of Ukraine Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
As he said in the publication for the financial times in 2014, slightly who would have thought that the West, And most of the EU, will keep penalties Against Russia more than 2 years. However, according to Rasmussen, in spite of the demonstrated commitment of the European, the reality is that Moscow remains calm under punishment, reports RT. As reported by ex-Secretary General of NATO, correlated with the leaders of the EU mode of punishment did not frighten the Kremlin, for this reason, at the meeting of the European Council this week Europe should at least consider the extension of existing penalties for 12 months instead of six. On the reverse side, the extension of punishment will not change them substantially, And it is time to recognize, continues Rasmussen that the process of consideration of restrictions Against Russia is not deep enough." The original goal of six months, the sanctions regime was to pair it With signed in September 2014 the first Minsk agreement. At that moment there was a hope that all parties, including the Russian Federation, will carry out these rules. But it soon became clear that the capital of Russia there are no such intentions. For this reason, we should prepare For a long confrontation, " writes the former Secretary General of NATO.
Moscow has many times stated that it is not involved in the events in southeastern Ukraine, not a party to domestic conflict And is interested in Ukraine overcame political And economic crisis. In the capital of Russia emphasize that all the charges against her dressesmaternity. According to Rasmussen, the six-month period of punishment is gradually outliving itself, for this reason, it is necessary to prisposobitsya To new realities. Whenever the time comes for the renewal of restrictions, the unity of European leaders is becoming weaker, As Russia is making a lot of effort to split the EU, he said. According to the politician, the extension of punishment for a longer time And will bring internal benefits to small EU States. For example, the discussion of sanctions will go away From the agenda of the upcoming tough election campaigns in France And Germany. It will also help to establish a unified TRANS-Atlantic front, in which the European Union increasingly will rally With US." And finally, the extension to 12 months of anti-Russian punishment because of the actions of the Russian capital in Ukraine will send a powerful message. Citizens, challenging the legal order, such As leader Vladimir Putin, will see that the European countries together With the United States is still able to show determination, responding to the difficult challenges of our difficult decade, " concludes Rasmussen. Against Russia there are 3 packs of punishments of the European Union. The first was introduced penalties Against individual citizens of Russia And Ukraine, which the EU considers responsible for undermining the territorial integrity of Ukraine, they extended March 10 to fifteen September 2016. Sectoral restrictive measures Against Russia - the so-called economic punishment are valid until 31 July 2016, and the penalties Against the Crimea until June 23, 2016. The head the Ministry of foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Lavrov said that the EU is beginning to understand the futility of attempts Russophobes " call the tune ", But Brussels is still under strong pressure of the US capital. The head of the Ministry of economic development of Russia Alexei Ulyukayev said that the designated business And officials in the EU feel the fatigue from the sanctions regime, And want to find a way out of the situation.

sections: Politics