EU "not prepared to immediately introduce new sanctions"

EU "not prepared to immediately introduce new sanctions"

BRUSSELS -- EU governments are not prepared to immediately introduce new, additional sanctions against Russia after a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine expired.

Armed clashes were renewed there on Tuesday.

Senior EU diplomats met early this morning in Brussels to discuss whether itwas necessary to take new punitive measures, after the summit of leaders of EU member states last Friday when Moscow was warned that "sanctions were on the table" if peace talks did not produce results.

"(They) decided they will monitor the situation. The picture on the ground is mixed. In the meantime, there are intensified preparations for sanctions," Reuters quoted a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The news agency said that two other diplomats in Brussels confirmed "the assessment."

Reuters also reported that Ukrainian government forces on Tuesday launched air and artillery attacks against pro-Russian forces in eastern regions, after President Petro Poroshenko announced he would not extend the cease-fire.

At the same time German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said that Berlin would not hesitate to support economic sanctions against Russia, regardless of the consequences to the German economy, "if it continues to violate international law in Ukraine."