Lithuania formin says EU sanctions on Russia should stay

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius poses for a portrait at United Nations Headquarters in the Manhattan borough New York May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

OSLO (Reuters) - EU sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine should stay in place as long the situation on the ground does not improve, Lithuania's foreign minister said on Monday, dismissing calls from EU's rotating president Slovakia for them to be lifted.

The European Union imposed energy, financial and defence sanctions on Moscow after it annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 and agreed in June to extend them until the end of January.