BRUSSELS, July 15. /ITAR-TASS/. Nine European Union member states are ready to block any attempts to impose new economic sanctions on Russia at a summit on July 16, a diplomatic source in a Western European country’s permanent representation to the European Union told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.

“France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia and Italy, which currently holds the EU presidency, see no grounds under the present circumstances for sectoral trade and economic sanctions against Russia, and they will oppose these measures at the summit,” the diplomat said.

“That is what the situation looks like now at the European Union Committee at the level of permanent representatives, which usually accurately reflects the alignment of forces ahead of an EU meeting,” the diplomat said, noting that economic sanctions against Russia required unanimous backing of all 28 EU countries, and each member state had the power to veto EU decisions.