The Czech highest constitutional officials agreed at a meeting on Wednesday that it would be worthwhile to hold a comprehensive and open discussion devoted to the economic and political effectiveness of the anti-Russian sanctions within the European Council.
PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th September, 2018) The Czech highest constitutional officials agreed at a meeting on Wednesday that it would be worthwhile to hold a comprehensive and open discussion devoted to the economic and political effectiveness of the anti-Russian sanctions within the European Council.
Earlier on Wednesday, Czech President Milos Zeman, Speaker of the country's lower house Radek Vondracek, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek held a meeting devoted to the issues relating to the county's foreign policy.
"Concerning the sanction regime of the EU against the Russian Federation, the officials stated that the reasons, which led to the introduction of the sanctions, persist ... The officials also agreed that a complex and open discussion on this topic at the level of the European Council would be useful, including the assessment of the economic and political effectiveness of the sanctions in connection with the procedure of their extension," the joint statement, adopted following the meeting, read.
The situation with the US-China trade wars, the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the Czech Republic's upcoming presidency in the Visegrad Group were among other issues discussed at the meeting.
The relations between Moscow and Western states deteriorated over situation in Ukraine and Crimea's rejoining Russia. The West imposed sanctions against Russia over its alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict. In turn, Moscow responded by imposing a trade embargo against the EU countries. Since then the Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the use of sanctions against the country is counterproductive.
