“I think we must be prepared. And if the talks fail, a very strong response is needed,” Wallström said before a meeting of heads of European Union foreign ministries.
Last week, western media reported that on Monday, EU foreign ministers will expand the anti-Russia sanctions list by adding another 19 Russian and Ukrainian officials and nine organizations.
Margot Wallström also noted that European ministers are supportive of French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s initiative on solving the Ukrainian crisis.
“I think that today we’ll see the full support of Hollande and Merkel’s initiative so as to continue talks with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and with Russia. This is the European way, to hold negotiations in order to find a political solution and not a military one,” Wallström said before a meeting of heads of European Union foreign ministries.
The next talks on Ukrainian reconciliation in the so-called Normandy format, comprising leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, are expected to take place on February 11 in Minsk. The Ukrainian peace talks have been conducted in several formats to date, but none of the negotiations resulted in a long-term truce in eastern Ukraine.
