The leaders of the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States have expressed their willingness to make a decision about new sanctions against Russia in the event of violations of the Minsk accords.

With regard to Ukraine and Russia, the leaders have agreed that they will be ready to make a decision on further sanctions, if the Minsk accords are further violated, the EU delegation to Russia said in a press release obtained by Interfax after a video conference held between the European Council president, leaders of the U.S. and several EU countries on March 3.

Furthermore, the conference attendees noted the close link between the sanctions and full implementation of the Minsk accords.

The parties have agreed to support the full implementation of the Minsk accords of September 2014 and the terms of their implementation agreed upon on February 12, 2015, and to keep and reinforce the possibility and the potential of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for monitoring compliance with the Minsk accords.