EU Lawmakers Call For Sanctions Against Moscow 'for Blocking Minsk Agreements'

In the draft report on the future strategy of relations with Russia, which is planned to be approved at the plenary session in Strasbourg, the members of the European Parliament call on the EU to expand sanctions against Moscow for issuing Russian passports to residents of Crimea and holding elections in this Russian region, as well as "for blocking the implementation of the Minsk agreements."

STRASBOURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2021) In the draft report on the future strategy of relations with Russia, which is planned to be approved at the plenary session in Strasbourg, the members of the European Parliament call on the EU to expand sanctions against Moscow for issuing Russian passports to residents of Crimea and holding elections in this Russian region, as well as "for blocking the implementation of the Minsk agreements."

"The EU should also broaden the scope of its sanctions to cover 'passportisation' and the organisation of illegal elections in Crimea and to increase the price Russia pays for blocking the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the Normandy Format talks," the document says.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it was neither a party to the conflict in Ukraine nor a subject of the Minsk settlement agreements.

Political groups represented in the European Parliament, before the plenary session in Strasbourg, which will be held September 13-16, tentatively agreed upon a "tough" report prepared by former Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius on EU relations with Russia. Discussion of the report is expected on September 14, a vote will be held on September 15, and its results will be announced on September 16. The decisions of the European Parliament are not binding, they are a recommendation for EU countries.