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Latvian FM expects no EU decision on fresh sanctions against Russia on Thursday

Xinhua, January 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will not yet take a decision on sanctions against Russia at its extraordinary meeting this Thursday, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics told journalists in Riga on Tuesday.

"I want to say right away that there will be no conclusive decisions on specific sanctions this Thursday. Most probably, a task will be given to prepare proposals, on which the Foreign Affairs Council might decide on Feb. 9," the Latvian minister said, noting that the issue might also be decided by the European Council.

Latvia's position is that the sanctions against Russia must be increased if the situation in eastern Ukraine continues to deteriorate.

"If the situation improves the sanctions can be eased. If the situation remains unchanged the sanctions must remain unchanged too. If the situation deteriorates it is necessary to discuss stepping them up," Rinkevics said.

The Latvian minister declined to specify what kind of sanctions the EU might impose on Russia, but voiced hope that the bloc would reach a consensus on the issue.

Asked why there will be no decision on the sanctions this Thursday, Rinkevics said that many member states believe it is for the European Council to take the decision.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission Vice-President for Social Dialogue and the EU from Latvia, also told journalists in Brussels on Tuesday that the bloc's current sanctions against Russia would be lifted or increased depending on Russia's actions.

"The sanctions can be revised in any direction -- they can be increased, or, in the optimistic scenario, eased," Dombrovskis said.

EU foreign ministers are expected to consider fresh sanctions against Russia at their extraordinary meeting this Thursday amid new escalation in Ukraine.

On Saturday, Mariupol, a city on the Sea of Azov with a population of 500,000, came under shelling of rocket fire, which hit an open-air market and nearby homes and shops and caused heavy casualties.

European Union foreign ministers will meet in Brussels this week to discuss the new outbreak of fighting and the attacks by separatists on Mariupol, which Kiev said left 30 civilians dead. Endit