MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. Russia does not expect that the European Union sanctions could be lifted any time soon, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s European Cooperation Department Nikolai Kobrinets said Thursday, commenting on the report that the EU intends to extend economic restrictions placed on Russia by six months.
"They [sanctions] are extended once in six months. There’s nothing new about it. The prospects of rolling the sanctions back are more than vague," he said. "We most likely should not expect that the sanctions will be lifted any time soon."
The diplomat noted that the EU "has not matured" to change its stance on Russia.
Meanwhile, according to the diplomat, Russia and the European Union can cooperate even amid the sanctions. "Cooperation beyond the sanctions is absolutely possible not only on the security track," Kobrinets said. "Although the European Union officially froze sectoral dialogues in 2014, expert work continues on the issues of interest to the parties."
Moscow is not discussing the lifting of sanctions with Brussels, since it was not Russia that initiated them, the diplomat reiterated. "We will live in the conditions in which we live. Sanctions make our country increasingly self-sufficient. As the current pandemic has demonstrated, it is not bad to be insured against all risks," he noted.
The diplomat also stressed that Russia was interested in seeing the European Union as a strong, stable and independent participant in the global political life. "No matter what predictions are made, the EU will survive the current crisis. It has a solid margin of financial and institutional safety. They are planning to attract huge funds to get out of the crisis," he added.
Earlier, a source in the European Council told TASS that the heads of EU state and government will adopt a political decision at a video conference meeting on June 19 to extend the economic sanctions slapped on Russia by another six months. As the things stand, the sanctions are in place until July 31.