BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union decided Monday to hold off temporarily on slapping sanctions on more Russians and Ukrainian separatists and await the outcome of possible peace talks later this week.
With the leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine due to hold negotiations in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday, the EU has delayed placing asset freezes and travel bans on 19 more individuals, including five Russians, for their actions in eastern Ukraine. It said the situation would be reviewed Monday.
"The principle of the sanctions is maintained but the application will depend on what happens on the ground," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said during a break in talks with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Fabius said political advisers would meet in Minsk on Tuesday to "hopefully" set up talks for the following day between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
"There is plenty of work left to do. There are a series of questions to answer," he said, including where heavy weapons should be withdrawn to and how to secure Ukraine's borders.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also cautioned that the Minsk meeting is not set in stone yet and diplomats were meeting Monday in Berlin to try to pave the way.
The EU foreign ministers are backing fresh diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, rejecting calls by some U.S. politicians to provide lethal defensive weapons to Kiev.
"We do not see this as progress. It would be easy for the Russians to immediately compensate for that," said Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.
"The UK is not intending to supply lethal weaponry to Ukraine at this point," Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said.
The EU now has visa bans and asset freezes on 132 individuals and 28 entities for their actions in eastern Ukraine. Nine more entities — companies and separatist groups in eastern Ukraine not recognized by the West, including one from Russia — could also be added to the list.
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