Polish Radio quoted an EU official it did not name as saying that introducing new sanctions would not be possible under the current Hungarian presidency, and so the commision will not present any proposal by the end of the year, even though informal consultations between representatives of the European Commission and the member states on the 15th package of sanctions against Russia have already started.
According to Polish Radio, sanctions on agri-food and industrial products are high on the agenda of the consultations, as the exports generate revenue for Russia's budget, allowing it to continue its war against Ukraine.
The Commission is also analysing various options and their implications for additional duties on goods from Russia and Belarus.
"It doesn't make sense to reveal the draft sanctions in this six months, because it's another opportunity for Hungary to bargain or pressure, and the work on sanctions wouldn't have progressed anyway," the official told Polish Radio's Brussels correspondent Beata Płomecka.
Poland's Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said last month that Poland "remains strong advocate of a firm sanctions policy" against Russia and its ally Belarus.
"We plan further actions against Belarus and Russia to weaken their capacity to wage war in Ukraine," he added.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in an interview with Newsweek in October that Russia was prepared to end the war in Ukraine in exchange for the lifting of all sanctions imposed on the country.
Lavrov reiterated Russian President Vladimir Putin's additional demands, which include the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, and recognition of these territories as part of Russia.
Putin's demands also call for Ukraine to solidify its status as a non-aligned, nuclear-free state, along with its "demilitarization and denazification," Lavrov added.
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Source: IAR