Germany to back extension of sanctions against Russia, Merkel says in Kiev

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Germany would push for an extension of Western sanctions against Russia in December. Moscow has failed to fully implement a Ukraine peace deal brokered in Minsk in 2015, she said, according to Reuters. “The Minsk agreement is not being fulfilled and we’re only making inching progress if at all and sometimes we’re going backwards,” Merkel said in Kiev. During the visit, the chancellor met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. “Based on the situation we have today, Germany will push for an extension of the sanctions in December too,” Merkel said. Among the violations of the Minsk peace agreement she cited elections planned for November 11 in self-proclaimed republics in Donbass, eastern Ukraine.