“I’m quite sure that we’ll find the possibility of removing these [sanctions]. I think that all parties, especially business, are tired of this regime,” Ulyukayev told journalists.
He emphasized that the agreements met in Minsk between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday were “actual, serious, and essential.”
Their meeting resulted in two agreements. The first document was signed by members of the Contact Group on Ukraine, which comprises representatives from Russia, Kiev, the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The second document, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande is a joint declaration in support of the measures agreed upon by the Contact Group.
On the same day, Finland's foreign minister said that a gradual easing of sanctions was possible if the new Minsk agreements were enforced in eastern Ukraine.
European Council President Donald Tusk announced that the bloc was not been discussing any new anti-Russia sanctions, with the French foreign minister also saying that there was no immediate need for further restrictions.
