German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called on the European Union to renew
its sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and
the Kremlin’s support for pro-Russian separatists that are fighting Ukrainian
government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Merkel said on February 1 that “sanctions against Russia must stay in place
until Russia fully implements the Minsk agreement,” a cease-fire and peace plan
aimed at resolving the war in eastern Ukraine.
Merkel made the remarks during a joint press conference with Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko, who had urged the West to maintain sanctions
against Russia.
Merkel also said she would discuss with Poroshenko extending new financial
aid to Ukraine in 2016.
Cease-fire agreements aimed at ending the conflict between Ukrainian
government forces and Russian-backed separatists were signed in the
Belarusian capital, Minsk, in September 2014 and February 2015.
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