German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during a
joint press conference as part of a meeting with Prime Minister of
Slovenia Miro Cerar, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Thursday,
Oct. 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel
underlined her displeasure over Russia’s role in eastern Ukraine on
Tuesday and said there is no reason yet to lift European Union
sanctions.
Russia supported rebel-organized elections
in eastern Ukraine that the West says undermine a much-violated
cease-fire deal signed in Minsk in September.
Merkel said her aim remains a diplomatic
solution, but the weekend’s events show “how difficult it is even to
maintain agreements that have been made, if we look at the illegal
elections.”
“Russia isn’t yet contributing in the way
we would like, particularly regarding Luhansk and Donetsk” in eastern
Ukraine, Merkel told a conference held by the German employers’
organization in Berlin. “The Minsk agreement should be the basis. So the
economic sanctions were inevitable and there is no reason at the moment
to lift them.”
New
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was quoted in an interview
with several European newspapers published Tuesday as standing by the
sanctions, but saying that it’s unclear how much influence they will
have.
While
their effect on the Russian economy is clear to everyone, “the real
point is, is that going to be the element that is going to change
significantly the Russian political attitude towards the crisis?” she
said, according to the Guardian.
“This
is still an open question mark and the answer is only in the hands of
the Russian authorities,” she added. Mogherini made clear it’s important
to stick to the Minsk process.
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