EU should not rush with new Russia sanctions - Germany's Gabriel

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday that the European Union should not rush to impose new sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

"The German government is not convinced that we should quickly formulate new sanctions now," said Gabriel in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF.

However if pro-Russian separatists created a corridor to Crimea, the EU could not ignore this, Gabriel, who is also head of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), added.

Foreign ministers have called an extraordinary meeting for Thursday after a new advance by pro-Russian rebels.

EU foreign ministers are expected to ask the executive European Commission to prepare a new round of sanctions to punish Moscow for its role in eastern Ukraine, however officials said the measures may not be adopted by EU leaders until late March.

(Reporting by Thorsten Severin; Writing by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Victoria Bryan)