Lifting sanctions on Russia now would weaken EU authority - Szymański

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymański told Reuters that the European Union must not ease sanctions on Russia until the so-called Minsk peace agreement is fully implemented, as this would weaken the bloc's position in its relations with Moscow. Szymański's comments come amid suggestions that the EU may begin to ease its sanctions on Russia later this year. "We cannot afford to back down in this process, which has to last longer, and which may bring about a moderation of the Russian position. We would undermine this whole experiment, this attempt to influence Russia in this way," Szymański said at the Reuters Eastern Europe Investment Summit in Warsaw. "The European Union's authority ... in the future depends on successfully influencing Russia through sanctions," Szymański said. "The sanctions on Russia were imposed not because of Nadezhda Savchenko's capture, but because of a much wider problem, linked to Russia's aggression on Ukraine," Szymański.