New Head Of Germany's Ruling CDU Sees No Ground To Lift Russia Sanctions

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2021) New head of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Armin Laschet said that he saw no ground to lift the sanctions imposed on Russia.

On January 16, Laschet was elected the new head of the CDU some eight months before the parliamentary elections in Germany.

"The main sanctions were imposed over the annexation of Crimea which violated international law. Another part [of sanctions] is linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. I would like to see more progress on the Minsk accords. The forces supported by Russia in eastern Ukraine stage covert and open acts of aggression.

That is why there is currently no ground to lift the sanctions," Laschet told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper on Friday.

On December 10, participants of the EU summit decided to once again extend the economic sanctions against Russia. The restrictions were introduced over the 2014 crisis in Ukraine and Crimea's decision to rejoin Russia. The West has accused Moscow of meddling in Ukrainian internal affairs, while Russia has denied the accusations and introduced a food embargo on the states that targeted it with restrictive measures.