Answering a relevant question on Thursday, at an informal EU summit in Brussels, Merkel said that the restrictive measures will be enforced on February 16.
Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of the European Union postponed the implementation of the new round of sanction until February 16.
The summit followed reconciliation talks held between the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, Russia and France in Minsk on Wednesday evening and Thursday night. The talks focused on the measures needed to end the ongoing military confrontation in Ukraine, however, they did not lead to any agreements on changes to the Western sanctions regime against Russia.
Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of the European Union postponed the implementation of a new round of anti-Russia sanctions until February 16.
The internal conflict in Ukraine has become a major point of contention between Russia and the West that has accused Moscow of being involved in the Ukrainian crisis. The European Union, the United States and a number of their allies have imposed several rounds of restrictive measures against Russia aimed at weakening the country's defense, banking and energy sectors.
Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is not involved in Ukraine's internal affairs, warning that sanctions threaten international stability. Russia has also introduced a one-year ban on the import of certain food products from a number of countries that have targeted it with sanctions.
