You're reading: Klimkin says EU will not lift sanctions on Russia in exchange for holding elections in Donbas

The European Union will not lift sanctions on Russia in exchange for holding elections in certain districts in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

“What I see now is a complete understanding of (the Ukrainian stance). Yes, I heard about talks in the EU, about conversations to ‘meet a halfway’ (on compliance with the Minsk peace accords) and partially we will remove sanctions and will see how it will look. This is not the most common view. Among my colleagues, no one said sanctions should be lifted,” the minister said.

The minister emphasized to Interfax-Ukraine lifting of the sanctions in return for holding certain elections in Donbas is impossible.