Polish FM Calls for Dialogue with Russia While Keeping Sanctions

The dialogue with Russia should continue, but with preservation of existing sanctions, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The EU’s decision on extending or lifting sanctions against Russia is expected at the meeting of the European Council which comprises of the leaders of all 28 EU member states. The European Council is set to meet on June 28.

"We need to continue the dialogue with Russia, because we want to find a way out of the conflict in Ukraine, and this can be resolved only by urging the Russian Federation to engage in dialogue," the Polish Foreign Minister said to Polskie Radio.

Waszczykowski added that maintaining sanctions against Moscow is still necessary as Russia "does not express any intention to comply with a peace agreement."

On Monday, Spanish acting foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said that the issue of lifting or extension of the EU economic sanctions against Russia depends on the implementation of the Minsk agreements on the Ukrainian reconciliation.

The European Union, as well as the United States and some of their allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy, as well as a number of individuals and entities, over Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014 and accusations of Moscow's alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict. In response, Moscow restricted imports of food products from countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia.