BBC Online :
The EU says it is ready to impose new sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not act quickly to stop arms and militants flowing into eastern Ukraine.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Russia that if it failed to act the EU “will be able to take further measures, further sanctions”.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for Ukraine’s peace plan must be “translated into action”.
Ukraine says armed pro-Russia militants are ignoring Kiev’s unilateral truce.
On Friday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a 15-point peace plan and declared a unilateral week-long truce.
President Putin welcomed the move, but said Kiev must negotiate and make compromises with the pro-Russian rebels, who remain in control of key state buildings in eastern Ukraine.
EU foreign ministers are discussing the Ukraine crisis in Luxembourg with the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin.
The crisis will also be high on the agenda of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, where EU leaders could announce further sanctions against
Russia if they deem Moscow’s response to the peace plan to be inadequate.
Western leaders accuse Russia of arming the anti-Kiev militants in Donetsk and Luhansk, where ties with Russia are traditionally strong.
Friday will also see the signing of a key EU-Ukraine association agreement – a far-reaching partnership deal which lies at the origin of the Ukraine crisis.
The refusal of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to sign the agreement last November, under heavy Russian pressure, triggered massive pro-EU street protests which forced him out of office.
The EU says it is ready to impose new sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not act quickly to stop arms and militants flowing into eastern Ukraine.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Russia that if it failed to act the EU “will be able to take further measures, further sanctions”.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for Ukraine’s peace plan must be “translated into action”.
Ukraine says armed pro-Russia militants are ignoring Kiev’s unilateral truce.
On Friday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a 15-point peace plan and declared a unilateral week-long truce.
President Putin welcomed the move, but said Kiev must negotiate and make compromises with the pro-Russian rebels, who remain in control of key state buildings in eastern Ukraine.
EU foreign ministers are discussing the Ukraine crisis in Luxembourg with the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin.
The crisis will also be high on the agenda of an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, where EU leaders could announce further sanctions against
Russia if they deem Moscow’s response to the peace plan to be inadequate.
Western leaders accuse Russia of arming the anti-Kiev militants in Donetsk and Luhansk, where ties with Russia are traditionally strong.
Friday will also see the signing of a key EU-Ukraine association agreement – a far-reaching partnership deal which lies at the origin of the Ukraine crisis.
The refusal of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to sign the agreement last November, under heavy Russian pressure, triggered massive pro-EU street protests which forced him out of office.
