You're reading: Danish foreign minister supports expansion of EU sanctions regarding Crimea

Denmark's Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard expects that the European Union will step up its restrictions on business with Crimea.

“The European Union is considering stepping up its restrictions on business with Crimea to make clear that the bloc doesn’t accept Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula,” the Bloomberg agency reported, citing Lidegaard.

“When it comes to Crimea, I hope we will be able to agree on some action when it comes to making it very clear that the European Union does not accept the annexation of Crimea and will continue to put sanctions on Crimea in order to show that,” Lidegaard said.

The EU aims to maintain its existing sanctions regime in general, Lidegaard said.

Current sanctions need time to take their full effect and therefore there is no need to move to a more intense phase, he said.

At the same time, there are steps the EU can take to increase its pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, the Bloomberg agency said, citing the Danish minister.

EU foreign ministers will gather in Brussels on Dec. 15 to discuss Ukraine and other issues, before a Dec. 18-19 meeting of the bloc’s 28 leaders.