Sanctions against Russia could be withdrawn only after the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Jan Pieklo has said.

"The clear position of the West is a complete implementation of the Minsk Agreements. The issue is that we do not see this implementation, and as long as we do not see this, sanctions will be retained," Pieklo said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that some EU member states are opposed to sanctions toughening, but it was possible to maintain existing sanctions and extend them by means of compromise.

"If some countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, want to tighten sanctions, the others try to mitigate them, but it is necessary to find a compromise, so that the sanctions are saved on the same level," the Polish diplomat said.

Pieklo drew attention to the fact that the issue of preservation sanctions by the EU against Russia influences the factors that are not relevant to the situation with Ukraine, in particular, elections for the U.S. presidency, military actions in Syria, etc.