Belgian People's Party to Keep on Striving for Anti-Russian Sanctions Relief

The Belgian right-wing People's Party will be striving for the relief of EU sanctions against Russia despite the fact that the parliament rejected a resolution calling on the government to initiate the lifting of sanctions, resolution author Aldo Carcaci said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the lower house of the Belgian federal parliament rejected the resolution calling on the government to initiate the lifting of EU anti-Russia sanctions. The resolution, submitted in July, argued that sanctions imposed on Russia were contrary to international law due to being imposed outside the UN Security Council. Carcaci also argued in the resolution that Moscow had fulfilled its commitments under the Minsk accords to put pressure on the east Ukrainian militias to encourage them to stop violence as there were no further grounds for continuing sanctions.

"I can confirm absolutely for sure that we will continue working. Perhaps, we will be calling not for cancellation, but for the sanctions relief. We will edit the resolution at the terminology level," Carcaci told reporters.

The European Union introduced anti-Russian sanctions following the rejoining of Crimea with Russia and the outbreak of violence in eastern Ukraine in 2014. Encountered with import food embargoes by Russia, the measures have significantly harmed Russian-EU trade and other ties, fueling discontent among many groups in Europe. In April, the French National Assembly approved a resolution calling on the government to lift the sanctions. Several Italian regional councils have also approved similar resolutions.