German chancellor Angela Merkel has no plans to end EU sanctions against Russia, according to an interview with German paper RedaktionsNetzwerks on Friday.
Until Moscow fulfils its obligations under the Minsk peace plan Russia will remain under sanctions by the US and EU, which were imposed after it annexed Crimea’s Black Sea peninsula in 2014.
Merkel reiterated that Europe “had to react against this violation of basic principles”, and is working with the French President Francois Hollande in order to implement the Minsk ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Sanctions have been in place against Russia for two years, after being extended in June. However, some German politicians are willing to phase out the sanctions with the peace deal looks increasingly unlikely.