"Partnership is over, more sanctions in works"

"Partnership is over, more sanctions in works"

BRUSSELS -- Governments of EU member-states will decide on a package of new sanctions against Russia on Friday, said the future head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini.

"On Monday ambassadors of the EU met, the Commission will present a proposal to finalize the package by tomorrow and a decision will be made on Friday," said the Italian foreign minister as she was addressing members of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee, Reuters reported.

Mogherini added that the Commission will work to strengthen the package of sanctions against Russia, "because of the military invasion of Ukraine," and that it will happen in four sectors, including defense and finance.

"The strategic partnership is over. It is clear that it is over and it is the choice of Moscow. We have problems in the territory of Ukraine. We have a conflict, of course," she said.

The Italian minister then strongly condemned "the entry of the Russian army to the Ukrainian territory," and said she told this also to the Russian foreign minister during a telephone conversation on Monday.

"(Sergei) Lavrov called me to congratulate me on the appointment, and I told him that in the future we will devote much time to conversations about the Russian aggression against Ukraine."

Mogherini, who is due to take over as EU foreign policy chief in November, then indicated that it is "not too late to find a political solution through the Contact Group," which was recently formed.

"The Contact Group is a faint light in almost complete darkness," said she, and added that the EU should "jointly oppose Russia's aggression."

Speaking about the construction of the...