Ukraine must
uphold its part of a peace deal with Russia by modernizing the country or risk
a collapse of support for EU sanctions against Moscow, Denmark's foreign
minister said on Friday.
The European Union is pressing Kiev to overcome political feuding and
implement reforms to bring Ukraine out of Russia's shadow and into the West,
but the resignation of Ukraine's frustrated economy minister has underlined the
difficulties.
"If Ukraine doesn't come through with the reforms linked to the Minsk
peace process, it will be very difficult for Europe to continue united in
support for sanctions against Russia," Kristian Jensen told Reuters,
referring to the peace deal agreed by Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany last
year.
Jensen was speaking on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers meeting in
Amsterdam.
Maintaining unity is crucial for Europe's efforts to put pressure on Moscow
to help end the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed
separatists in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 9,000 people since
April 2014.
The European Union, along with the United States, imposed economic
sanctions on Russia in July 2014, targeting its energy, banking and defense
sectors.
Sanctions expire in July and can be extended. But countries with a closer
relationship with Russia including Cyprus, Italy and Hungary could argue that
if Ukraine is not abiding by the Minsk peace deal, the process no longer holds.
Reforms tied to the Minsk accord include changing Ukraine's constitution to
decentralize government, something foreign investors say would greatly speed up
decision-making.
Minsk was extended beyond its end-2015 deadline and although it does not
have a new, formal deadline it is not open-ended.
"Ukraine has a deadline. They need to push those reforms now, they
can't wait," Jensen said.
With some 100 Danish companies in Ukraine, Copenhagen has sought to seize
the initiative after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Ukraine in December
to call for reforms. Denmark pushed EU foreign ministers to discuss Ukraine at
their last meeting in January, the first debate in almost a year.
In Kiev, the economy minister's shock resignation this week raised concerns
over the government's ability to deliver change, especially as political rifts
within the ruling Ukrainian coalition appeared to have been calmed when it
agreed a 2016 draft budget in late December.
Jensen said Aivaras Abromavicius decision to step down was also a warning
that Europe needed to help more. The European Union and other Western
governments are pouring money into Ukraine to reform the police, customs and
the energy sector in one of the world's most corrupt countries.
"We are all running around with our own small, pet projects. Many of
them are good but none of them are sufficient to make a visible change in
Ukraine," said Jensen, who visited Ukraine in September.
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