Russia says sanctions decision shows EU not changing 'unfriendly course'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The European Union has shown it is not ready to change its "unfriendly course" by leaving in place economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The EU said after a meeting on Monday that any alleviation of sanctions against Russia would happen only if there were improvements on the ground in eastern Ukraine.

"(This) only confirms the fact that the EU is still not ready to alter its unfriendly course or to give an objective assessment of the Kiev authorities' actions," the ministry said in a statement published on its website.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly, Editing by Timothy Heritage)