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Friday, April 4, 2014

EU must be ready with Russia sanctions over Ukraine: Britain

By Justyna Pawlak ATHENS (Reuters) - Britain urged its European Union partners on Friday to press ahead with preparing tough economic sanctions against Russia, saying large numbers of Russian forces remained on Ukraine's eastern border and there had been only a "token" withdrawal. "We haven't seen real de-escalation by Russia and therefore Europe must not relax in preparing a third tier of sanctions and making sure we continue to have a strong and united response," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Athens. He was referring to trade and economic measures the EU has threatened to take against Russia after its annexation of Crimea if it moves into southern and eastern Ukraine. At the two-day meeting in the Greek capital, the ministers will discuss ways the European Union can help Kiev overcome its conflict with Moscow and debate how to change the bloc's approach towards its neighbours in light of the Ukraine crisis.

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