EU says Russia has done little to merit lifting of sanctions

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says Russia hasn’t done anything more to respect a Ukraine peace agreement that would justify lifting EU sanctions at the end of next month.

Mogherini told reporters on Monday that “we see no result for the moment.” The EU imposed sanctions in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

Measures targeting Russia’s economy are due to expire on July 31. The decision to rescind them depends on whether the EU thinks Russia is respecting the Minsk peace agreement sealed in 2015.

The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met this month to discuss how to end the fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict.