Russian Actions over Ukraine 'Insufficient' so Far, Says Germany
Russian actions to resolve the Ukraine conflict have been insufficient so far, a German government spokesman said Wednesday ahead of an EU summit that will consider fresh sanctions against Moscow.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko had agreed in a phone call Tuesday that "Russia has been insufficient in meeting expectations" on steps to end the fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists, said Merkel's spokesman.
On the day Merkel also spoke by phone with U.S. President Barack Obama, the Ukraine leader told Merkel that "there are indications that heavy weapons from Russia are continuing to reach separatists, and that there are more signs of attacks on Ukrainian forces from Russian territory".
Merkel and Poroshenko had "shared the judgment of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) that the separatists lack ... the will to enter into serious talks on declaring a mutual ceasefire".
They still expected Russia to publicly rein in the insurgents, "some of whose leaders in the past served for years in Russian secret services," German spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a press conference.
Another demand on Moscow was to effectively seal its border with Ukraine, Seibert said, adding that the annexation of the Crimean peninsula continues "every day to represent a breach of international law".
"Possible consequences of these so far dashed expectations will be a subject of today's European Council meeting," he added, referring to the summit in Brussels.
Source: Agence France Presse
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