Merkel says hopes for lifting of anti-Russian sanctions

SOCHI, May 2 (PRIME) -- The anti-Russian sanctions should be lifted only after the Minsk agreements have been fulfilled, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I would like us to achieve the goal that we can lift the sanctions after the Minsk agreements have been fulfilled,” she said.

In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated to their worse since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and further against the energy and banking sectors. In response, Russia prohibited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

Under the Minsk-2 agreements signed in February 2015, Ukraine and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics are to keep a ceasefire and withdraw heavy weapons from the contact line, while Ukraine is to amend the constitution considering decentralization, taking into account the two regions. The sides are also to agree on elections in the two regions.

The agreements were to be fulfilled by December 31, 2015, but the deadline was extended as all the sides have failed to implement the agreements in time.

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