Following the meeting in Kyiv, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel noted that sanctions against Russia could be abolished only after full implementation of the Minsk agreements.

“Sanctions will be abolished only in case of full implementation of the agreements. Otherwise, the policy of sanctions will be an instrument to motivate the aggressor and occupant to sit down at the negotiating table and ensure the fulfillment of obligations achieved in Minsk,” the President said answering the question of a journalist.

The President thanked the Prime Minister of Luxembourg who is now presiding in the EU for the clear position in support of Ukraine. “Sanctions are an instrument to liberate our country from occupation,” Petro Poroshenko noted adding that the intention of Russia to outtalk the process and weaken or abolish sanctions solely on the basis of ceasefire regime was inadmissible.

According to the President, full implementation of the Minsk agreements includes ceasefire, withdrawal of occupation troops, restoration of control over the Ukrainian-Russian border, implementation of political, humanitarian, social and economic components of the Minsk process.

In his turn, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg noted: “One cannot speak of sanctions solely in relation to one item of the Minsk agreements. It is necessary to implement all the agreements. We cannot abolish sanctions, if only one item is observed”.

Xavier Bettel emphasized that “sanctions are the result of consideration of the entire situation”. “If we consider the entire context, we must use all available opportunities. It is not my personal position. It is the position of the entire European Union where all 28 countries share the same view on this situation,” the Prime Minister noted.

According to Xavier Bettel, sanctions are used, if the EU considers the situation is developing in the wrong way. “There are a lot of items in the Minsk agreements. In case of implementation of all these agreements, we will react correspondingly. For today, peace is too fragile and we cannot say for sure what decision we will make on December 31,” the Prime Minister of Luxembourg emphasized.