BRUSSELS, January 19. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of 28 European Union countries will not decide on sanctions against Russia at their meeting on Monday, Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said when arriving at the European Council meeting, the first this year.
The meeting will focus on continuation of last November's and December's discussion with heads of states and governments and preparation for the March EU summit, while assistance for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will not be discussed, Mogherini said.
Any decision on sanctions will be based on improvement of the situation and fulfillment of the Minsk agreements. Resumption of violence in eastern Ukraine in the past few days is definitely not good news, she said.
The foreign ministers will consider what can most efficiently be used to achieve improvement of the situation in eastern Ukraine, the EU chief diplomat said.
European Council President Donald Tusk after the last EU summit in Brussels in December told reporters that the European Union need a pragmatic and practical solution and a united common position toward Russia rather than an ideologized one. No long-term solution for Ukraine can be found without a united strategy toward Russia, he said.