WASHINGTON, November 15, (Sputnik) — All parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine should abide by the Minsk agreements and exercise restraint, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia.
"All parties should abide by the commitments they took in September Minsk agreements. We call particularly on the rebels and Ukrainian authorities to apply maximum restraint," Rompuy said Saturday.
The European Council head also said that EU Foreign Ministers will meet on Monday to determine whether or not to take additional actions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the situation in Ukraine.
"Russia still has the opportunity to fulfil its Minsk commitments and choose [the] path of de-escalation which could allow sanctions to be rolled back. If it does not do so however we are ready to consider additional actions. We are evaluating the situation and we are waiting of the assessment that on Monday would be made by the Foreign Ministers," Rompuy said.
The conflict in Ukraine escalated in mid-April, when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the country's south-eastern regions. On September 5, during a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire.
The West has repeatedly accused Russia of getting involved in Ukraine's internal crisis and has imposed several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia.
Moscow has denied its involvement in the situation in Ukraine, stressing that sanctions are counterproductive and hurt not only the target country but also those using the restrictive measures.
