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EU to keep sanctions against Russia in place until Minsk deal implemented — Tusk

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that linking sanctions against Russia to implementation of Minsk-2 encourages Kiev to sabotage the agreement

ISE-SHIMA /Japan/, May 26. /TASS/. The European Union thinks it necessary to keep sanctions on Russia in place until the Minsk agreements are implemented in full, President of the European Council Donald Tusk said prior to the opening ceremony of the G7 summit in Japan on Thursday.

Tusk is confident that the EU will abide by the current policy towards Russia, including economic sanctions, until the Minsk accords are fulfilled to the end.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet that linking sanctions against Russia to implementation of Minsk-2 encourages Kiev to sabotage the agreement.

"The European Union linked cancellation of sanction to implementation of the Minsk Agreements by Russia. Such link is absurd because our country, as it is known, is not a party to conflict in Ukraine. Putting the question like this only encourages Kiev to sabotage the implementation of the Minsk Package of measures without any consequences," Lavrov noted.

The G7 Summit, assembling the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and the U.S., kicks off in Japan’s Ise-Shima National Park (Mie Prefecture) on the Pacific Coast and will end on May 27.

Minsk provisions backed by leaders of the "Normandy Four" group assembling Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in the Belarussian capital in February 2015 envisaged a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and eastern region people’s militias starting that month. A 13-point package sought withdrawal of heavy weapons from a line disengaging Kiev troops and militias alongside measures for a long-term political settlement in Donbass.