"As a presidency, we will try to be impartial. We will not raise this issue ourselves, we will not stop this issue at the same time," he told MEPs in Brussels, when asked about the so-called Magnitsky list proposal.
"Sanctions are a very sensitive issue. This is a measure of the last resort, and they would require the highest level of political support of all member states," he told members of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
European lawmakers have repeatedly called for introducing a visa ban and asset freeze for Russian officials for violations of human rights.
In a statement last month, European lawmakers expressed concern over reports of political trials in Russia and failure to investigate serious crimes like murder, harassment and violence as seen from the cases of Sergey Magnitsky, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Anna Politkovskaya etc.
The Parliament also expressed concern over the case and alleged political persecution of well-known lawyer, corruption fighter and public activist Alexei Navalny.
Last month, European lawmakers adopted a resolution calling on the EU to introduce a visa-ban and freeze the EU assets of all Russian officials linked to the death in custody of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and other violations of human rights.
They also called for introducing visa facilitation for all political activists persecuted in Russia.
On April 12, the United States Department of State announced a blacklist of 18 persons who are banned from getting American visas for their involvement in the embezzlement of Russian budget funds. The chain of alleged events eventually led to the death of Magnitsky who exposed the embezzlers.
