The European Union does not plan, now or in the future, to lift the sanctions imposed against the aggressor state after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc cannot afford to give up such leverage over Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaya Kallas said this, Barrons reports.. According to her, the Kremlin has not changed its rhetoric, so the EU has no reason to lift anti-Russian economic restrictions.

" This is our leverage, and it would be very strange to give it away. Things haven't changed. Putin has not changed his goals and nothing has changed on the ground. Therefore, there are no grounds for lifting sanctions,” – top EU diplomat.

She stressed that whatever the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, if they take place, “Europe will be in a much weaker position if sanctions are lifted prematurely.”.

“I also don’t think that it is now in the interests of the United States to abandon sanctions,” Kallas added..

The EU has imposed 15 unprecedented packages of sanctions against Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The next decision on extending sanctions must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU countries by January 31.

However, there are leaders in the EU who oppose anti-Russian sanctions.

The biggest opponent of sanctions against the Russian Federation is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. On January 17, he refused to agree to extend sanctions pending negotiations with the team of the new US President Donald Trump..

He said that Brussels "

“It’s time to throw sanctions out of the window and create a system of sanctions-free relations with Russia. This is still a long way off, but we must work on it,” he said in his regular interview with state radio.