BERLIN, September 18. /TASS/. In an interview with Germany’s Die Welt, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristayko admitted that anti-Russian sanctions were getting more and more inconvenient for the West.

The minister described the return of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and calls to reinstate the G8 format of negotiations as signs showing that Western nations were ready to soften their stance.

"Even if Western sanctions are not ideal, and it’s getting more and more difficult for our Western partners to maintain them, they still damage the Russian economy," he said. "And this forces Russia to make steps in the right direction."

When asked about Kiev’s expectations from a possible summit in the Normandy format (Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany), Pristayko said that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky "wants to achieve true progress within six months." "I don’t know what the Kremlin’s aspirations are," he added.

The Ukrainian top diplomat assured that as far as the Normandy format is concerned, his country is ready to take new measures "to reverse the previous dynamics."

"This does not mean that we will act alone. In the course of dialogue with our partners, we will put forward proposals, which, as I hope, will lead to greater efficiency," he said.

"We will not surrender the territory of Ukraine and have notified the Russians about our red lines. For example, we oppose Russia’s attempts to strengthen its positions on parts of the Ukrainian territory," he said. "We want to return our citizens back. And if this is impossible, we will resort to other measures, of which it is too early to speak right now.".