EU leaders won't discuss Russia sanctions over Ukraine Thursday - official

FILE PHOTO: EU flags flutter in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders meeting over the crisis in Ukraine on Thursday will not discuss specific new sanctions on Russia as the matter is "divisive", an EU official said on Thursday.

Asked about the latest shelling in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region, where Russia-backed separatists face off against Kyiv troops, the official said:

"The trigger for sanctions is a matter of political appreciation. We are not entering that discussion yet. We are carefully looking at the Donbass shelling, we are aware that it might be used as a test or excuse."

The 27 national EU leaders are meeting in Brussels over the crisis in Ukraine for one hour from 1130 GMT.

The official, who is involved in preparing the summit and spoke under condition of anonymity, said it would mostly be a debrief by the French and German leaders following their talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska)