Britain leaving the European Union will be a serious test of the EU's unity, and may affect the position of the West in relation to Russia, calling the extension of the anti-Russian sanctions in January 2017 into question, the experts of the US company Stratfor said.
According to the experts, a single EU front on the issue of anti-Russian sanctions has cracked even before the Brexit vote. At the same time they pointed out that some Russia-friendly countries, including Italy, Greece, and Hungary, called for greater discussion on extending sanctions against Russia. "Of course, the pro-Russia sentiment has not sufficed to break the EU unanimity in an actual vote. Nonetheless, it reveals growing uncertainty over the future of the sanctions – regardless of whether Moscow complies with the Continent's demands to implement the Minsk accords," Stratfor experts noted.