February 13, 2015 (BBC News Europe) Russia
will face fresh sanctions from the EU if a deal to end the Ukraine war is not
fully implemented, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned. She said EU
leaders had asked officials to prepare further sanctions in case an agreed
ceasefire was not respected. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France
sealed a deal on Thursday after marathon talks in Belarus. The ceasefire is due
to begin in eastern Ukraine at midnight on Saturday but both sides remain
sceptical. Pro-Russian rebels have signed the agreement, which also includes
weapon withdrawals and prisoner exchanges, but key issues remain to be settled.
Clashes between government forces and the rebels continued on Thursday and one
Russian-backed commander said his forces would not stop fighting.
Thousands of people have died in
almost a year of fighting in the region. In another development, the World Bank
said on Thursday it was ready to provide up to $2bn billion (£1.3bn) in
financial assistance to Ukraine this year as part of an international package
of support.
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