BERLIN — A senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday that there should be no sanctions relief for Russia until all foreign forces and equipment have left Ukraine, Kiev's sovereignty over its border has been restored and all hostages have been released.
"Today there is a peace deal on paper in Ukraine, there is thankfully peace across a lot of Ukraine, but the peace deal is still being violated in key sectors," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said in a speech at an Aspen Institute conference in Berlin on transatlantic relations.
A cease-fire agreed on Sept. 5 is still in place, although some fighting has continued. Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko next week on the sidelines of talks among Asian and European leaders in Milan, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
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