BERLIN, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - Germany does not rule out that EU leaders may discuss anti-Russian sanctions at a European Council meeting in Brussels next week, deputy government spokesperson Christiane Wirtz said Friday.
Wirtz told journalists in Berlin the summit, due on October 23-24, would focus on the EU foreign policy, including the Ukraine peace settlement and economic sanctions against Moscow, although she did not guarantee that sanctions would eventually come up during the talks.
This statement came after a high-ranking EU official told reporters on condition of anonymity earlier in the day that EU foreign ministers were not going to revise anti-Russia sanctions during their meeting next Monday. He did say the issue would be discussed during the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), expected to be convened by the end of October.
The European Union, as well as some other countries, have imposed several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia, accusing it of supporting independence fighters in southeastern Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claim.
In response to the measures, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Western sanctions undermine global economic stability and hurt not only the target country but also those that impose them. Russian authorities have repeatedly stressed that Russia would not discuss any conditions for the lifting of sanctions as it sees them as illegal to begin with.
