Having slapped Crimea and Sevastopol with new investment restrictions, the EU stopped short of introducing new sanctions against Russia's mainland, with political heavyweights including France and Germany cautiously hinting at possible policy reversal, reports GHN based on RT.
The EU summit in Brussels, hosted by European Council President Donald Tusk, has abruptly ended half a day earlier than planned with European leaders opting against introducing a new set of sanctions on Moscow. While a number of delegations spoke in favor of new measures, the bloc's political heavyweights urged caution.
The EU's new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned that imposing more sanctions on Russia may hurt the European economy even further.
"The fact that Russia is in a difficult situation from a financial point of view is not good news, not for the Russian citizens, not for Ukraine and not for Europe and the rest of the world," Mogherini said in Brussels.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country's financial and industrial might serves as a pillar of the EU, urged members to place more trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"If [the Russian President] says he is committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, we have to trust his word and work on it," Merkel said after the EU summit in Brussels, referring to the recent telephone conversations with the leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine.
French President Francois Hollande, another EU heavyweight who has been lobbying to ease sanctions, said the economic blockade might be lifted if Ukraine's territorial integrity is respected.
If Moscow cooperates on Ukraine, Hollande said, "then there is no need for new sanctions - on the contrary, in that case we should think about how we, too, could begin to de-escalate."