Ukrainian president calls for tightening sanctions against Russia if it hinders Donbas peace process

11:51, 11.09.2015 1 min read

Sanctions against Russia should be tightened if it continues to support instability in Donbas, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"We should openly determine that not only the existent sanctions will last as long as Russia occupies Crimea and supports instability in Donbas, but also enhanced restrictive measures will be imposed if Russia continues to hinder the settlement process," he said at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) in Kyiv on Friday.

Russia must be forced "to follow the logic of the Minsk agreements," Poroshenko said.

"We must make the fake elections in Donbas impossible because that would again ruin the Minsk process. We must take utmost efforts and ensure the soonest release of all those incarcerated in Donbas and Russia – Nadia Savchenko and Oleh Sentsov," the Ukrainian president said.