EU FOREIGN ministers gathered in Brussels yesterday insisted they would maintain sanctions against Russia despite the apparent thaw between Moscow and Washington.

They said sanctions must stay in place until Russian President Vladimir Putin acts to uphold the ceasefire in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region and ensure heavy weapons are withdrawn from border areas.

The sanctions were imposed over Russia’s peaceful reunification with Crimea after a referendum in 2014 that followed that year’s far-right Maidan Square coup in Kiev.