“Sanctions against Russia should be expanded, not because we have something against Russia or its people, but because the Minsk agreements are not being followed,” Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Bert Koenders was quoted as saying by mixnews.lv.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics agreed with his Dutch counterpart, who is currently in Riga on a working visit, the news outlet reported.
Kiev-led forces have been fighting mostly independence supporters in Ukraine’s southeast since April last year. In September, the warring sides signed a ceasefire deal during a meeting in Minsk, brokered by Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Despite the ceasefire agreement, fighting has continued in East Ukraine. Tensions escalated in the first weeks of 2015, and numerous shelling incidents killed dozens of civilians.
A new meeting on Ukrainian reconciliation was held in Minsk on January 31, failing to yield any results.
