More on EU sanctions on Russia being renewed:
In an interview released on May 26, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the EU was facing difficult talks on extending the measures due to the resistance of some member states
"It will be more difficult than it was last year to find a common position on this issue," Steinmeier told the Baltic News Service. (AFP)
Kremlin: Savchenko's release won't help warm EU-Russia ties:
Russia says the release of Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko after nearly two years in captivity is unlikely to help improve Moscow's relations ties with the European Union.
Savchenko returned home on May 25 after being exchanged for two Russians held by Ukraine.
"The return of our guys to Moscow and the pardoning of Savchenko and her return to Kyiv can hardly be considered as something that is able to significantly change the current atmosphere, which of course we would like to see as more constructive," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 26.
Savchenko's handover, which had been demanded by the West, comes a few weeks before the EU decides whether to extend sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
The measures, which were adopted in 2014, are due to expire at the end of July. (Reuters, TASS)
In today's Daily Vertical, Brian Whitmore offers his thoughts on her release yesterday:
EU's Tusk "quite sure" Russia sanctions will be extended:
By RFE/RL
EU Council President Donald Tusk says he is "quite sure" that the bloc will renew its economic sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine "in the next two or three weeks without huge discussions."
"I want to state clearly that our stance vis-a-vis Russia, including economic sanctions, will remain unchanged as long as the Minsk agreements are not fully implemented," Tusk also said on May 26 ahead of a G7 summit in Japan.
There have been calls on the EU to drop the measures, with French lawmakers adopting a nonbinding resolution last month calling for a lifting of the sanctions targeting Russia's oil, defense, and banking sectors.
The EU sanctions, which were adopted in 2014, are due to expire at the end of July.