PARIS (Sputnik) — He added that this position was shared by the entire government, but only the European Union had powers to make such a decision.
"Of course I want the sanctions to be lifted, the President of the Republic [Francois Hollande] also wants. I went to Russia to discuss this issue with the Russians," Le Foll said, as quoted by the French newspaper Le Figaro.
In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated over Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian internal crisis. The European Union, as well as the United States and some other countries, imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking and defense industries.
In August 2014, in response to the Western restrictive measures, Moscow announced a one-year food embargo on products originating in states that imposed sanctions against it. The ban has since been extended for another year.
