Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has discussed with Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Marc Ayrault the state of implementation of the Minsk Agreements, the situation in the east of the country and the preservation of the sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Groysman, who is on a visit to France, informed Ayrault about the situation in Donbas and in the occupied Crimea, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported.

Ukrainian Prime Minister said there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements, and Ukraine unswervingly adheres to its commitments.

"In this context, the prime minister said that the sanctions against the Russian Federation should be maintained until it is fully complied with its obligations under the Minsk agreements," the Cabinet’s statement says.

The sides also discussed the issue of the deployment of the OSCE armed police mission and mine lifting in Donbas territories.

Groysman thanked France for its assistance to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

"Separately, the head of government thanked for the initiative to create a "roadmap" for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and its proposals, as "Normandy Quartet" agreed in Berlin," the Cabinet said.

The interlocutors separately touched upon the issues of liberalization of the visa regime. "In this context, Groysman said that Ukraine has fulfilled all the requirements for the introduction of visa-free regime," the report says.

In addition, the premier met with the President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher, who was informed about the ongoing Ukrainian government reforms, in particular, the continuation of the decentralization of power, anti-corruption fight, civil service reform, deregulation, including in the energy sector and drug market.

In this context Groysman thanked the president of the French senate for his personal initiative and offered to assist Ukraine in the field of decentralization.

The prime minister also briefed on the situation in Donbas, and emphasized again the inadmissibility of lifting the sanctions on the Russian Federation before the fulfillment of its commitments in the framework of the Minsk Agreements obligations.

"Russia will continue to commit aggression, and there are only three issues: where, which country and which way it will use," Groysman said.

Larcher agreed with the head of the Ukrainian government on the need for implementation of the Minsk agreements and expressed his readiness to support Ukraine in this way, the Cabinet’s press service said.

In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oksana Syroyid, who also took part at the meeting, said that Russia undermines the situation on the European continent too.

"Russia does not only undermine Ukraine, it also derails Europe," the MP said.

Syroyid said it is necessary to use the Minsk Agreements as a platform for further discussions.