BRUSSELS--France and Germany will continue talks in the coming
days with Russia and Ukraine, French President François Hollande
said Thursday, as a lull in fighting in eastern Ukraine has raised
hopes that a more lasting peace is at hand.
European leaders in March will examine whether steps have been
taken by Russia that would allow European Union sanctions to be
eased, Mr. Hollande said.
Mr. Hollande said the four nations have restarted talks that
began over the summer, when he met with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President
Petro Poroshenko in Normandy. Those discussions stopped after a
cease-fire agreement reached in Minsk wasn't respected.
"For several days, even several weeks, we have restarted the
initiative, " Mr. Hollande told reporters after a European summit
here.
But Mr. Hollande said that Russia needs to do more before it
would be possible to relax sanctions imposed on Moscow by the EU
for supporting rebels in Ukraine's eastern provinces.
There have been "first steps," he said, but now the entire Minsk
agreement must be respected. That includes requirements for Russia
to remove heavy weaponry from eastern Ukraine and rebel groups to
free prisoners, he said.
Write to Matthew Dalton at Matthew.Dalton@wsj.com
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