UNITED NATIONS, September 20 /TASS/. The Minsk agreements should be implemented but the sanctions are not giving an opportunity to resolve problems between the European Union and Russia, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told journalists after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

"The sanctions are not giving us a chance to conduct a dialogue and resolve problems. On the contrary, they automatically mean that a country on which the sanctions are imposed also retaliates with sanctions," he said.