UPDATE: Merkel insists anti-Russian sanctions depend on Minsk deal

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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.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the two leaders did not discuss sanctions at the meeting as Putin usually does not discuss sanctions. “Yes, it was discussed by Merkel, but sanctions were not a subject of the negotiations,” he said.

“Germany’s position, shared by some European countries, which links the sanctions with implementation of the Minsk agreements, has been traditionally maintained. This position traditionally baffles us as Russia is not a side of the conflict. Even if one only runs through the Minsk agreements quickly, he will see who has to do what, and Russia should act as a guarantor country here,” he 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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