MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the G7 states — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — had decided to extend sanctions against Russia in June.
"We think it is right and necessary to keep the pressure [on Russia] while also using the sanctions instrument wisely. Sanctions are not an end in itself, but must serve as a political stimulus," the spokesman for Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at a press conference.
The Foreign Ministry said governments in Moscow and Kiev appeared to be struggling to implement the 2015 Minsk agreement on ending bloodshed in east Ukraine. He added it should be possible to scale down economic restrictions on Russia in case of significant progress on the Minsk pact.