Anti-Russian Sanctions to Be Lifted When No Reason for Them Remains - Merkel

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Sanctions against Russia will be lifted when there is no reason for them, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday.

"The sanctions will be canceled when the cause is eliminated," Merkel told reporters at an annual summer press conference.

She added that it will be possible to talk about the lifting of sanctions when the Minsk agreements are implemented.

Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it is a guarantor state of the Minsk agreements just as Germany and France are, while Kiev and Donbass militia are the parties to the deal. Thus, Russian officials called linking the lifting of EU and US anti-Russian sanctions with the implementation of the Minsk deal "absurd" and "counterproductive."

Ukraine, which has been mired in a in the southeastern regions for three years, has repeatedly tried to avoid implementing its part of the Minsk accords. In February 2015, a peace deal was signed between the conflicting sides in Minsk following the talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine — the so-called Normandy Format. According to the agreement, besides other requirements, the conflicting parties have to introduce safe zones to stop violence and pave way for a diplomatic reconciliation. Nevertheless, sporadic armed conflicts keep reoccurring in the region.