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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