French Senate (upper house of the parliament) has adopted a resolution calling to ease sanctions against Russia. So on Wednesday, the vast majority of senators – 302 – voted for, and 16 – against the document.
The resolution was tabled by the Commission of the Senate on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces and has recommendatory character. The authors call on the government of France to discuss the issue in Brussels and insist on a gradual easing of the sanctions regime in accordance with the progress of the Minsk agreements on Ukraine. The document also recommends to cancel personal sanctions against Russian parliamentarians in order to facilitate the dialogue between the two countries.
The authors of the initiative considered that a gradual easing of sanctions in the economic sphere, and their revision in the political one will promote the progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
On April 28, a resolution calling on the authorities not to support the extension of sanctions against Russia, has also been adopted by the National Assembly (lower house) of France. The document proposed by the opposition, headed by the MP Thierry Mariani, has been approved by a majority of votes – 55 deputies out of 98 who took part in the vote.