EU must keep anti-Russian sanctions in place – Latvian foreign minister

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics has said that the European Union must keep sanctions against Russia in place until it fully implements the Minsk agreements.

Censor.NET reports citing Interfax.

Rinkevics said this at a joint briefing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko in Kyiv on Monday.

"The implementation of the Minsk agreements will be discussed at a forthcoming meeting of the Council of the European Union. My Ukrainian colleague told me about the vision of the Ukrainian government, in what manner it should be implemented in the Normandy format. I want to say that Latvia has always supported Ukraine and we are going to do so in the future. I do see positive steps that are being taken now. [...] But we have not seen the full implementation of the Minsk agreements so we believe that all sanctions imposed by the European Union must be preserved and extended," he said.

Read more: Volker: ‘Crimea’ sanctions to stay as long as Russia occupies peninsula

Rinkevics expressed hope that the ongoing political process would lead to some progress, but, in his opinion, much remains to be done for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements.