Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called for retaining anti-Russian sanctions as a motivation for positive progress in the Normandy Four negotiations and Moscow's implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

"We are confident that resolute and unified actions are needed today. Resolute actions [are needed] in order to motivate the Russian side to sit down at the negotiation table, motivate [it] to implement the Minsk Agreements fully, first and foremost, in the security component. [...] In case they aren't implemented, we support maintaining and, if necessary, increasing the sanctions pressure on Russia," the Ukrainian president told reporters prior to negotiations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday.