Economics
Russian Sanctions Tactics in Ukraine Don't Fool G-7, Japan Says
- Measures over Donbas conflict to stay until Minsk pact is met
- Japanese loans to Ukraine hinge on reform, ambassador says
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Russian actions to cool hostilities in eastern Ukraine are designed to win a rollback of international sanctions, and won’t achieve that goal unless President Vladimir Putin also helps fulfill a pact to end to the war, Japan’s ambassador to Kiev said.
Russia, which backs the militants who’ve been fighting Ukrainian troops for 1 1/2 years, calms the unrest whenever it sees an opportunity to have the penalties against it repealed, particularly those imposed by the European Union, Shigeki Sumi said in an interview. Without full implementation of a peace accord sealed in February in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, Group of Seven nations have "strong" intentions to maintain the sanctions, he said.