"Minsk is the basis for all that we do with the Russians at the moment, and only if the Minsk deal is implemented sanctions can be lifted," Elmar Brok told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
The Minsk accords to deescalate the situation in eastern Ukraine were signed by representatives of the government in Kiev and the Donbas militias in February 2015. Key points of the Minsk deal include a ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, constitutional reforms, including a decentralization of power in the country, and the granting of special status to the Donbas region.
Relations between Russia and the Western states went downhill in 2014, when Brussels joined Washington in accusing Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure.
The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive. In response to the Western restrictive measures, in August 2014, Russia announced a one-year food embargo on some products originating in states that imposed sanctions against it. The ban has since been extended for another year.
Earlier in the day, US State Secretary John Kerry said US and EU sanctions against Russia would stay in force until the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine are fully implemented.
