Spanish official says no reason to expand anti-Russian sanctions

MOSCOW, Mar 10 (PRIME) -- The Ukrainian ceasefire, the agreement of which was signed last month in Belarus’ Minsk are being fulfilled, producing no reason to expand the E.U. sanctions against Russia, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Spain’s minister of foreign affairs, said Tuesday.

“The Minsk agreements are being fulfilled, good news is coming from there, and heavy arms have been removed from the contact line. And I do not see expansion of the sanctions,” Garcia-Margallo said after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Sanctions should be gradual depending on whether the agreements are being fulfilled or are not being fulfilled.”

He also said the sanctions were not good for anyone and hurt the Spanish economy a lot.

Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated to their worse since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and further against the energy and banking sectors. In response, Russia limited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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