BRUSSELS, September 30. /ITAR-TASS/. The issue of gradually cancelling the European Union’s sanctions against Russia may be raised at an EU summit on October 23-24, depending on Ukraine developments, an East European diplomat said on Tuesday.

“This issue may be included in the agenda of the next EU summit, depending on the developments in Ukraine, the diplomat said following a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels on Tuesday that discussed the Ukraine situation.

Strong disagreements currently persist between EU member states about the possibility of starting the process of a phased cancelation of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, the EU has no plans to lift all the sanctions simultaneously so far.

Another European diplomat said on Tuesday that an EU summit would be needed to launch the process of the sanctions cancellation.

“A political decision on the imposition of the sanctions was taken at a summit and the issue of their cancellations should also be discussed at a summit,” the diplomat said.

“Today’s meeting of the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives was not authorized to take decisions on sanctions. Its task was to assess the Ukraine situation. So far, we can state that instable equilibrium persists [in Ukraine],” the diplomat said.

The European Union will continue “watching closely the developments in Ukraine” and consider the sanctions issue on this basis, the diplomat said.