"I don't believe it is timely now that there will be a weakening or a reduction in sanctions regime," Flanagan said upon arrival at the first EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting this year.
"We'll be calling on Russia to ensure compliance with Minsk and we will be condemning continued acts of aggression. But any suggestions that the EU is moving towards weakening of sanctions would not be correct," Flanagan added.
"We would all like to see it happening, we would all like to reduce sanctions but only once Russia is complying with its obligations," Hammond said adding that the European Union needs to maintain "a unified and disciplined response, in the face of continued Russian refusal to deliver on the commitments made under Minsk agreements."
Earlier in the day, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said that the bloc's foreign ministers would not make any decisions regarding sanctions against Moscow during their Monday meeting in Brussels but would continue to discuss the issue.
Following the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine last year, the United States, the European Union and their allies imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia accusing it of meddling in Ukraine's affairs – a claim Moscow completely denied. Earlier this week the European Parliament said that the EU Council should adopt benchmarks that when achieved would allow the bloc to lift its sanctions against Moscow.
