German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that the European Union would maintain sanctions against Russia. Speaking during her tour of the Baltics, Merkel said that Moscow must progress toward fulfilling its commitment under a peace deal for east Ukraine before the EU would consider lifting the measures.

The sanctions — which were introduced in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula — target Russia's state finances, energy and arms sectors.

What did Merkel say?

Following talks with leaders from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, Merkel said:

"Before the Minsk agreement has been implemented or progress has been made in that regard, we will not consider lifting sanctions on Russia."

"Peace and reinstating the territorial integrity of Ukraine continue to be important topics for all of us here."

"Almost all the former Soviet republics that do not belong to the EU or NATO bear internal conflicts provoked by Russia."

Read more: Germany's Merkel to press Ukraine peace talks after Russian election

What is the Minsk peace deal? German, French, Russian and Ukrainian leaders signed peace agreements in 2015. The Minsk peace accords envisage a ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the front line and free elections. It has not yet been implemented.

Ongoing conflict: Fighting in eastern Ukraine began in April 2014. The conflict has killed 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

Watch video 02:41 Share Can UN bring peace in eastern Ukraine? Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2tBu2 Can UN mission bring peace in eastern Ukraine?

Anti-Russian sanctions: The EU on Thursday extended the measures — which impose asset freezes and travel restrictions on 155 people and 44 entities — for a further six months. They had been due to expire on Saturday. There are separate EU sanctions in place targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy, as well as restrictive measures preventing EU citizens and companies from investing in Crimea and Sevastopol.

Why was Merkel in Vilnius? Merkel was meeting with leaders from the Baltic states in the Lithuanian capital. Merkel said there had been consensus on a range of issues — including boosting an EU border force and dealing with migration to the bloc. The chancellor's comments about the sanctions on Russia come a day after an EU court rejected a request by eight Russian companies to cancel the measures, ruling they were reasonable and proportionate.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses German troops of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite in Rukla military base, Lithuania

Merkel thanks NATO soldiers: The chancellor also visited German troops at their barracks in the Lithuanian town of Rukla on Friday. "We are proud that you are here," Merkel told the Bundeswehr soldiers for their role in strengthening the North Atlantic Alliance's (NATO) eastern flank. Some 450 German soldiers lead a multinational task force in the Baltics.

Solving the EU's migration crisis: Merkel will meet with other EU leaders in Salzburg next week to further discuss Brexit and the migration crisis. Merkel has called migration a "significantly larger challenge to the future cohesion of the European Union than what we witnessed during the eurozone crisis."

Germany's NATO missions Germany's role in NATO West Germany officially joined the trans-Atlantic alliance in 1955. However, it wasn't until after reunification in 1990 that the German government considered "out of area" missions led by NATO. From peacekeeping to deterrence, Germany's Bundeswehr has since been deployed in several countries across the globe in defense of its allies.

Germany's NATO missions Bosnia: Germany's first NATO mission In 1995, Germany participated in its first "out of area" NATO mission as part of a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the deployment, German soldiers joined other NATO member forces to provide security in the wake of the Bosnian War. The peacekeeping mission included more than 60,000 troops from NATO's member states and partners.

Germany's NATO missions Keeping the peace in Kosovo Since the beginning of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, some 8,500 German soldiers have been deployed in the young country. In 1999, NATO launched an air assault against Serbian forces accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown against ethnic Albanian separatists and their civilian supporters. Approximately 550 Bundeswehr troops are still stationed in Kosovo.

Germany's NATO missions Patrolling the Aegean Sea In 2016, Germany deployed its combat support ship "Bonn" to lead a NATO mission backed by the EU in the Aegean Sea. The mission included conducting "reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings" in Greek and Turkish territorial waters at the height of the migration crisis. Germany, Greece and Turkey had requested assistance from the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Germany's NATO missions More than a decade in Afghanistan In 2003, Germany's parliament voted to send Bundeswehr troops to Afghanistan in support of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Germany became the third-largest contributor of troops and led the Regional Command North. More than 50 German troops were killed during the mission. Nearly a thousand soldiers are still deployed in Afghanistan as part of Resolute Support.

Germany's NATO missions German tanks in Lithuania Forming part of NATO's "enhanced forward presence" in the Baltic states, 450 Bundeswehr soldiers have been deployed to Lithuania so far in 2017. The battalion-size battlegroups there are led by Germany, Canada, the UK and US to reinforce collective defense on the alliance's eastern flank. It forms the "biggest reinforcement of Alliance collective defence in a generation," according to NATO.

Germany's NATO missions Taking over the leadership The Bundeswehr is due to take over leadership of NATO's multinational Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) at the start of 2019. The rapid reaction force has been set up to counter potential Russian aggression on the alliance's eastern flank. Author: Lewis Sanders IV



kw/rt (AP, AFP)

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