Western Leaders Focus on Positives of Ukraine Process - Merkel

Western leaders focused discussion on “positive aspects” of Ukrainian reconciliation during recent video conference, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – During a video conference Wednesday, Western leaders preferred to focus on the "positive aspects" of Ukrainian reconciliation rather than on discussing the possibility of expanding sanctions against Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

"The sanctions were a topic, but the real topic was the positive aspect," the German leader told reporters at a joint news conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.

"Mostly, we've been discussing how we can implement the Minsk package which the French president and myself organized with the Russian president, we want to implement that successfully; how we can make sure that the OSCE mission can be reinforced; how together we can help to implement the Ukraine reform agenda," she said.

The German chancellor added that "if [the] Minsk [deal] does not work then member states and the commission are quite prepared to toughen sanctions."

The European Union, together with the United States, has accused Moscow of fueling the conflict between government forces and independence militias in Ukraine. Russia has denied any involvement and stressed the necessity of a peaceful settlement of the hostilities.

The West has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia, targeting the country's banking, energy and defense sectors, as well as a number of individuals.

A truce between Kiev forces and Donbas independence fighters was agreed upon in September 2014 in Minsk, but the warring sides failed to maintain it. A new peace deal was worked out in February by Russian, Ukrainian, German and French leaders, with a ceasefire coming into force on February 15.

Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said that the truce is generally being observed.