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Sanctions test European partnership, Russia says

EU extension of sanctions follows Russian pursuit of new gas routes.

By Daniel J. Graeber

MOSCOW, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- European sanctions against Russia are selective and test the resolve of the bilateral partnership, the Russian envoy to the European Union said Friday.

EU foreign ministers agreed during an extraordinary meeting in Brussels to extend existing sanctions against Russian until September. With conflict escalating in eastern Ukraine, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said there's little good news coming out of the region.

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"I think the situation on the ground in Ukraine is not giving us any space for being happy of anything," she said at the conclusion of Thursday's meeting.

Sanctions were enacted first in response to a Kremlin decision to annex the Crimean Peninsula as the government in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, moved closer to the EU last year. Vladimir Chizhov, the Russian envoy to the EU, said the sanctions decision was regrettable.

"By acting in such a narrow-minded way, the EU in essence is subjecting to additional tests our partnership," he said.

The comments come as Russia looks to Turkey as its alternate transit route for natural gas deliveries to Europe. Ukraine hosts most of the Russian gas bound for Europe currently and economic woes and ongoing conflict makes that route risky.

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Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, as Russia's largest trading partner, Russia would remain the key energy supplier for Europe.

The Russian economy is faltering under the duel pressure of sanctions and low energy prices. Kremlin officials have described the economic situation as problematic.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Thursday the sanctions pressure should be seen as a message to Russia that its actions in Ukraine are "absolutely unacceptable."

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