Juncker's Visit to Russia Shows Shift in EU Stance Toward Moscow – Lawmaker

© Flickr / European People's PartyJean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker - Sputnik International
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The European Commission president's visit to Russia shows a shift in EU's stance on relations with Moscow.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission - Sputnik International
What Moscow Should Expect From EU Commission Juncker’s Visit to Russia
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The planned visit of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to the St.Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s softer rhetoric on anti-Russia sanctions show a shift in EU's stance on relations with Moscow, German lawmaker with Die Linke party told Sputnik Tuesday.

“There have been different stances on [anti-Russia] sanctions inside the EU member states already before and I think that those who oppose them are growing,” Andrej Hunko said.

“The scheduled visit of Mr Juncker to St. Petersburg is also indicating that shift. That might be a reason for Steinmeier to soften his position – a step that I welcome but that is still questioned inside the German government. Also in Germany there are significant actors who question the sanctions, which has contributed to the current developments,” he added.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission - Sputnik International
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On Monday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier reiterated his proposal to consider gradual lifting of EU restrictions against Russia depending on progress in the implementation of Minsk peace accords aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Hunko said that sanctions against Russia affected both EU and Russian economies negatively, but failed to reach EU intended goals.

“I think that the mutual sanctions are counterproductive and I call on both sides to lift or at least soften them. The EU’s politics of sanctions is more aggressive and I reject it both in its economic and political dimensions,” Hunko said.

Moscow's relations with the West deteriorated in 2014 over the Ukrainian crisis, when the European Union along with the United States as well as several other countries imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing it of meddling in Ukrainian internal affairs. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations.

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