Paris to Suffer 'Backlash' if Neglects Vote to Lift Anti-Russia Sanctions

French President Francois Hollande’s administration will suffer the "worst" political backlash in the event that it does not recognize a vote on the resolution calling to lift anti-Russia sanctions, a member of the French parliament’s foreign affairs committee said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, 55 lawmakers of the National Assembly voted in favor of a resolution which calls on the French government to oppose the extension of anti-Russia sanctions. As many as 44 parliamentarians voted against the measure.

The French Foreign Ministry said through a spokesman later it has "taken note" of its adoption.

"The French government will suffer the worst consequences if it doesn't take into account the resolution's results," Thierry Mariani said in a video link organized by the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

Mariani, member of former President Nicolas Sarkozy's The Republicans party, upheld the resolution as a "victory for France to change" when asked on the vote's results.

Relations between Russia and the European Union member states, including France, went downhill in 2014, when Brussels joined Washington in accusing Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure.

The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive and taking restrictive economic measures in response.

The EU leaders summit is scheduled for June 28-29. Extending the EU economic sanctions against Russia, which are due to expire in July, is likely to be on the summit's agenda.