The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the failure of the EU sanctions policy

The EU cannot find the strength to admit that its sanctions policy against Russia has failed, the director of the Department of European Affairs told Izvestia The Russian Foreign Ministry Vladislav Maslennikov.

There's no stopping now: The EU has agreed on the 17th package of sanctions against Russia

The approval of new restrictions is expected on May 20.

"The European Union cannot find the strength to admit that its sanctions policy has failed, that they have significantly damaged their own economy. And they don't want to be responsible to their population for this. In their frenzy of sanctions, they seem important to themselves and influence something," he said.

The automatic lifting of EU sanctions after the end of the Ukrainian conflict is unlikely to be expected, the diplomat emphasizes.

On May 20, the EU approved the introduction of the 17th package of sanctions against Russia.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Package attack: new EU sanctions against Russia are not supported by the United States