Elmar Brok: If Russia wants the sanctions lifted, it should comply with the Minsk agreement

In order to achieve results on the Minsk peace talks it is essential to abandon attempts to expand the militia-controlled territories.

Elmar Brok, the member of the European Parliament, stated that in his interview to Deutsche Welle.

“If Russia wants the sanctions lifted, its only way forward is compliance with the Minsk agreement. Yet, on the face of it there was no progress so far, apart from a deal on prisoner swaps", the MEP said.

He noted that it was important to stop attempts to gain more territory by either side.

"As the ceasefire that was agreed upon at the time never materialized. I believe that this is the most important issue to begin with: How can the fighting be straightened out in a way where neither side attempts to gain more territory?" Brok said.

The MEP believes that the fact that Ukraine makes a move towards NATO membership hasn't led to the cancellation of the talks.

"I don't believe this - I hope it didn't. After all, merely its neutral "non-aligned" status was dropped by parliament. This status was introduced only four years ago by former President Yanukovych - Ukraine did not have anything like this before. Current President Petro Poroshenko has said that seven years from now he wants to hold a referendum on this issue. That means it is effectively not on the agenda at the moment", Brok stated.