France to Urge Lifting of Anti-Russia Sanctions Once Minsk Deal Implemented

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — France will lobby for the abolition of the anti-Russian sanctions as soon as the Minsk Agreements on Ukraine reconciliation are implemented, French Ambassador to Russia Jean-Maurice Ripert said Thursday.

"In Ukraine, we are trying, together with Berlin and Kiev, to speed up the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, to restore peace in the southeast of Ukraine. This would enable the lifting of the sanctions, which France would require as soon as the agreements were implemented," Ripert wrote on Facebook.

Relations between Russia and the European Union deteriorated in 2014, when Brussels joined Washington in accusing Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis, imposing economic sanctions as a punitive measure. The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive.

In February, the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine elaborated a set of measures in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, aimed at Ukrainian reconciliation. The deal was signed by representatives of the Kiev government and eastern Ukrainian militia. The measures include a ceasefire, the withdrawal of weaponry from the contact line and constitutional changes.

The current ceasefire has been largely observed since September, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).