Arseniy Yatsenyuk: Any discussion about the probability to lift the sanctions against Russia at this stage is groundless

"Ukraine has been and is still consistent with implementation of its part of the Minsk agreements. Russian party hasn’t done anything. That is why I consider any discussion about the probability of lifting the sanctions against Russia at this stage unreasonable", stressed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Monday, February 1, at a briefing following the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Stéphane Dion.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that the meeting concerned an issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation.

"Russia has now started a big game aimed at sanctions to be eliminated. Russia's goal is to convince part of the western world of the necessity of repealing the sanctions and to actually start the game: who is to blame for the failure of the "Minsk", he stressed.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine accentuated that Ukraine abides by its part of the Minsk agreements: "Russia has never done anything."

"Russia is obliged to cease fire, withdraw troops, withdraw all the artillery and equipment, to enable access for the OSCE mission to all areas and territories in Donetsk and Luhansk and withdraw its troops to afford Ukraine to restore full control over the Ukrainian-Russian border", he stressed.

"Hence, I think that any talks either in the member states of the European Union or among our western partners about a chance to rescind the sanctions are groundless at this stage", said Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine highlighted that issues of the illegal annexation of Crimea and retaliatory sanctions against the Russian Federation “should by no means be excluded from the global agenda".