MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The 28-nation European Union slapped Russia with several rounds of economic sanctions, accusing it of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict. Moscow dismissed the allegations as groundless and reacted with counter-measures, banning EU food imports in August 2014.
“I hope the sanctions will stop in July,” Mariani said.
The lawmaker added that he hoped Russia would therefore cancel its retaliatory measures against EU countries:
“We hope that if we lift, Russia will also lift its sanctions.”
Earlier this week, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that Greece disagreed with the restrictive EU measures and deemed them to be a form of economic warfare. Greece has been seriously hit by Russia’s food embargo, as trade between the two countries nearly halved by the end of 2014.
Other countries, which do not support the sanctions include the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus.
