German chancellor sees no grounds for lifting EU sanctions against Russia German Chancellor Angela Merkel Friday said the European Union found no sufficient reasons for lifting sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation over Donbas and Crimea."Not enough progress has been made to lift sanctions. We had a common view that every effort should be made to push the Minsk process forward," she told reporters after the first day of the EU Summit, Censor.NET reports citing Interfax news agency.Merkel also admitted that further escalation in Ukraine’s east was avoided.Earlier, European Union President Donald Tusk announced the extension of sanctions against Russia."EU united on roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia," he wrote on Twitter. Read more: US Treasury: Sanctions against Russias energy, banking sectors come into effectA source in the EU Council familiar with the matter told the news agency that the existing restrictive measures had been extended for six months without any amendments.Moreover, a source from the EU diplomatic corps said that the upcoming formal extension of sanctions by the EU Council "will actually be technical."Источник: https://en.censor.net.ua/n3039515