KIEV, June 23. /ITAR-TASS/. The European Union does not rule out further sanctions to be imposed on Russia in case of further deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine. President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said this in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday.

“The president of the European Council voiced concerns over the situation in east Ukraine and informed Poroshenko about possible imposition of additional sanctions on Russia if the country does not take all effort to establish peace,” the Ukrainian presidential press service reported.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president noted that he believed  “Russia will support a peaceful plan not only in words, but also in deeds.” Poroshenko did not rule out Ukraine-EU-Russia consultations at the level of experts before June 27.

The president also briefed the European Council chief that he had received confirmation from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to send a mission of OSCE observers to checkpoints in Lugansk and Donetsk regions in southeast Ukraine. “We also assume that Russia had sent its observers for monitoring as part of the OSCE observer mission,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, The European Union Council did not recommend to impose sanctions on Russia at an EU summit, according to Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.