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Merkel, Hollande back extending sanctions
on Russia over Ukraine
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 [December 13, 2016]
BERLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of
France and Germany, speaking two days before an EU summit which will
discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, said they want to extend
sanctions against Russia due to a lack of progress in implementing a
ceasefire deal.
The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has
claimed nearly 10,000 lives since it erupted in 2014. Germany and France
have tried to convince both sides to implement a peace deal agreed in
Minsk last year but with little success so far.
EU leaders will on Thursday discuss extending sanctions, which include
restricting access to international financing and curbs on defence and
energy cooperation with Russia.
Merkel, speaking with Hollande who was visiting a Franco-German
conference on the digital economy in Berlin, said implementation of the
ceasefire deal was "very sluggish".
"It will be necessary to extend the sanctions against Russia again -
although we would have wished for better progress in the implementation
of this process," she said.
Hollande agreed. "We must continue to apply the terms of the Minsk
agreement and when they are not carried out, we must continue with
sanctions," he said.
The sanctions were extended several times and are due to expire at the
end of January.
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French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel make a statement to the media at the Chancellery in Berlin,
Germany, December 13, 2016. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stoking the separatist movement and
aiding the rebels. The Kremlin denies these charges and accuses Ukraine
of perpetuating the violence and violating the Minsk deal.
At the end of last month, four-way talks on ending the separatist
conflict ended without a breakthrough.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Michael Nienaber in Paris,
Jean-Baptiste Vey in Paris, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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