Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin walks past the media upon arrival at the EU foreign ministers council at the European Council headquarters in Luxembourg city, Luxembourg, Monday, June 23, 2014.
Several European foreign ministers on Monday threatened further sanctions if Russia fails to cooperate with Ukraine's proposed peace plan and doesn't stop the flow of arms and militants across its border into eastern Ukraine.
Russia is "conducting a propaganda war with full speed ahead and no signs of them closing the border," said Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.
Armed militants and even tanks continue to cross the border into eastern Ukraine, he asserted. "If the Russians say they don't know how to close borders, I don't think that's a particularly credible statement," Bildt added.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the European Union will be able to agree further sanctions against Russia at a summit of the bloc's 28 leaders Friday, if necessary. "Those measures are ready to take," he said.
"We look to Russia to take actual action to stop the flow of arms over the border into eastern Ukraine, to encourage illegal armed groups to stop what they are doing there now," Hague said.
The EU meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday is also being attended by Ukraine's new Foreign Minister, Pavlo Klimkin, who was set to brief his colleagues on the peace plan proposed by President Petro Poroshenko. It includes a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine and suggests a decentralisation of power to give regions more political authority, and measures to protect the language rights of Russian speakers in the east.
"We now look to Russia to support the peace plan," Hague insisted.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius also called on Russia to stop the flow of militants and heavy weapons to avoid tougher sanctions.
The EU has so far ordered visa bans and asset freezes for a list of officials but has refrained from imposing broader economic sanctions. EU leaders will review the situation on Friday.