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Moscow/Brussels Russia urged the European Union on Saturday to lift sanctions against Moscow and promised to waive its food embargo, but a top EU official rejected such a move as the bloc imposed fresh measures on Ukrainian rebels.

The European Union and the United States imposed economic sanctions on Russia in late July, targeting the Russian energy, banking and defense sectors to punish Moscow's support for rebels in eastern Ukraine, the West's toughest steps yet.

In retaliation, Moscow has banned most Western food imports, worth $9 billion a year.

"We don't expect anything from our European partners. The only thing we expect is for them to leave the meaningless sanctions spiral and move onto the path of lifting the sanctions and dropping the blacklists," Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexei Meshkov, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

"This, in turn, would allow us to drop our lists."

The gesture from Moscow came as the European Union imposed sanctions on 13 Ukrainians accused of organizing rogue elections in eastern Ukraine on Nov. 2, hitting the separatists and their organizations with asset freezes and travel bans.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the new president of the European Commission, said Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March left Europe with two options: go to war against Russia or impose economic sanctions.

"If you don't want a war the only possibility is sanctions ... You have to take sanctions that produce an effect," Juncker told RTL radio in Luxembourg, his home country.

"One has to maintain those sanctions as long as, on the ground, we do not see Russian gestures aimed at pacifying the region," he said, referring to Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said lower oil prices and Western financial sanctions will cost Russia around $130 billion-$140 billion a year, equivalent to around 7 percent of its economy.

Original post:
Russia calls for end to sanctions as EU cracks down on Ukrainians