Several EU countries, including Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia and Hungary want to restore trade relations with Moscow. If they join with each other and oppose the automatic renewal of the sanctions all together, the proponents of a hard stance toward Russia will have to make concessions, the article said.
"It will become increasingly harder to extend sanctions, but we will be able to achieve this only if we convince skeptics that the sanctions are not the only component of the EU's policy towards Russia," a member of the EU administration told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, the EU is divided into two blocks: those who want "to lower their sights" and let Moscow know that the EU is ready to "normalize the situation" if Russia makes concessions on its part; and those who, on the contrary, want to toughen their policy toward Russia and extend the restrictive measures.
"Everything would be different if there were a few of them," the official said.
Brussels, Washington and their allies introduced several rounds of anti-Russia sanctions over Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. The sanctions have been repeatedly criticized by Moscow due to their inefficiency and negative impact on the economies of both Russia and the EU.
