BERLIN
The European Union is discussing possible new sanctions against Russia but they would not include new major economic measures, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.
Merkel announced the threat of new sanctions on Tuesday, criticizing Russia’s reluctance to use its influence on pro-Russian separatists who unilaterally held elections on November 2, undermining what she said were efforts for reconciliation with the Ukrainian government.
"Looking at the elections (in Eastern Ukraine) which we consider illegal, we have been thinking about the possible listing of persons who were involved in these," she said, speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif following talks in Berlin.
“Discussions continue among the EU member countries, but further economic sanctions are not yet envisaged,” Merkel said.
Despite a cease-fire agreed on September 5 in Minsk by the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian separatists, tensions remain high in the eastern Ukraine.
'No cease-fire'
Merkel said she is planning to talk with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents during the G20 summit next week in Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland, Australia.
“We are not satisfied with the state of affairs as regards the Minsk agreement because very substantial parts of it have not yet been implemented. There is no proper cease-fire in place,” she said.
Also in Berlin, EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said earlier the 28-member bloc would discuss next week both possible new sanctions against Russia and measures to support Ukraine.
"We will have a ministerial meeting in Brussels on Monday, so a discussion will be there, I would say not just on whether to increase the sanctions but most of all how to support Ukraine in these difficult times," Mogherini said at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum.
“The winter is coming and the most challenging work that we have in front of us is not just reacting to a situation that is clearly going in the wrong direction on the ground … but mainly to make Ukraine a success story to show that choosing the European way is bringing good results for the people of country,” she said.
'Fragile situation'
Mogherini underlined that, despite the fragile situation in the region, the Minsk protocol still represented an important window of opportunity for a political solution to the conflict.
The conflict in Eastern Ukraine has escalated since pro-separatist rebel elections in the eastern part of the country on Nov. 2.
Both the EU and NATO have denounced the rebel poll as illegitimate, and said it undermined efforts to resolve the conflict.
However, Russia recognized the vote and separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko was sworn-in as head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic.
At least 3,600 people died and 8,700 people were wounded during the conflict between mid-April and Oct. 6, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report last month.
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