PARIS (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, the Senate passed the document by overwhelming majority, as 302 lawmakers supported the resolution and 16 senators opposed. The National Assembly, France's lower house of parliament, adopted a similar resolution in April.
"I do not know whether this resolution will make the participants of the upcoming EU summit change the decision, but it will definitely encourage all EU member states to reconsider the sanctions issue," Yves Pozzo di Borgo told reporters after the vote.
Pozzo di Borgo added that as the document was non-binding, fuhrer policy on Russia depended on the French government. The lawmaker stressed that the resolution was supported by all political groups of the Senate, demonstrating the significance of the decision.
In mid-2014, the West imposed a range of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking and defense industries over allegations that Moscow had been meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. The EU members will discuss the prolongation of the restrictions at a summit in the end of June.
