Vilnius, Lithuania. The call from the Baltic to Bratislava is sanctions, sanctions and more sanctions. But the more the western powers pile on the Russian bear, the less things seem to go their way.
The Western countries must impose additional sanctions on Russia, since the existing ones are not working well enough to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, was stated by the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Linas Linkevičius, at the GLOBSEC security forum in Bratislava.
According to Linkevičius, discussions on the lifting of sanctions are premature since the situation in Ukraine is not changing, and Russia is providing military support to the armed forces of the Donbass Republics.
Because Lithuania borders with Russia, the situation with the Crimea has been alarming to the “Baltic neighbors” who are afraid of so-called “Russian aggression”upon their next door neighbor Crimea, he added. Despite the fact Lithuania is 15558 km from Crimea.
Linkevičius emphasized that the sanctions are the only way for the West to put pressure on Russia. According to him, additional restrictions need to be put in place, but doing this is “not so simple.”
European Union foreign ministers have advocated an extension of the sanctions on Russia, said Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski after a meeting of the heads of the foreign ministries in Brussels.
Russia “is not complying with the Minsk agreements”, which is why “the majority of those who have spoken on this matter” believe that the restrictions must be continued. How Russia is not complying with the agreement, Waszczykowski could not say, when asked by the News Front correspondent.
Italian Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in April that the EU is urging Russia to comply with the Minsk agreements. Lavrov has indicated the decisions of the EU on its policy is entirely up to and on their shoulders.