EU won't lift sanctions on Russia until Minsk conditions met: Merkel

[March 19, 2015]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe will not lift sanctions on Russia imposed over the Ukraine crisis until the conditions of the Minsk ceasefire deal have been met, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday before EU leaders discuss the issue at a summit in Brussels.

"We cannot and will not lift the sanctions that expire in July or September until the demands of the Minsk agreement have been fulfilled. That would be wrong," she told the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

She also said that the goal of the EU's eastern partnership is to improve the standard of living for people there, it is not about EU or NATO membership for those countries.

(Reporting by Stephen Brown, Michelle Martin and Madeline Chambers)

[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.