Moscow would face more EU sanctions if pro-Russia separatists attack the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said today, potentially opening a corridor to the south, including the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Kiev fears Mariupol, with its 500,000 people, could be the next major rebel target after separatists took the strategic railroad town of Debaltseve, its foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said after ceasefire talks in Paris two weeks ago.
"The problem today is particularly around Mariupol. We've told the Russians clearly that if there was a separatist attack in the direction of Mariupol things would be drastically altered, including in terms of sanctions," Fabius said.
EU leaders had agreed not to increase or reduce sanctions after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande helped broker a ceasefire deal on February 12.
A French diplomatic source, however, played down the prospect of more sanctions, saying that it was not an issue Paris supported for now as it would send the wrong message.
Rebel commander Eduard Basurin said on Tuesday that the rebels still aimed to gain control of the entire territory of east Ukraine's two rebellious provinces, including Mariupol, but would seek this through "negotiations with the Ukrainian side".
"Any further attacks would trigger a counter attack."
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