WASHINGTON, September 12. /ITAR-TASS/. The United States is ready to partially lift its sanctions against Russia if the ceasefire agreement reached in Minsk on September 5 will be fulfilled, a spokesman for the US administration said on Friday.

The peace settlement plan for eastern Ukraine was approved in Minsk on September 5 by by the five-party Contact Group on Ukraine, comprising Ukraine's former president, Leonid Kuchma, Russian ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov, Heidi Tagliavini, representing the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, vice-premier of Donetsk People's Republic Andrei Purgin and Lugansk Supreme Council chairman Alexei Karyakin.

New package of measures

Earlier on Friday, the US imposed new sanctions against 5 Russian defense companies.

The assets of the following companies have been blocked OAO Dolgoprudny Research Production Enterprise, Mytishchinski Mashinostroitelny Zavod OAO, Kalinin Machine Plant JSC, Almaz-Antey GSKB, and JSC NIIP.

In addition, sanctions against Russia’s Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz and Rosneft companies have been also introduced.

Thus, the new sanctions ban exports of goods, services and technologies used in Russian projects of oil production in deep water areas, on the Arctic shelf or in shale strata. The sanctions restrict access to foreign financing for Gazprom Neft and Transneft.

Furthermore, the US has imposed increased sanctions against six Russian banks, the US Treasury Department said on Friday.

Russia's largest bank Sberbank, as well as the Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank, Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank), VEB and VTB banks were added to the list of sanctioned financial institutions.

The Department of Treasury said the new measures were introduced due to the current situation in Ukraine.