This just in from Reuters:
The European Union is likely to keep sanctions on Russia in place for now when ambassadors meet next week to assess progress in implementing Ukraine's peace process, diplomats said.
When the EU adopted its latest sanctions on Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict earlier this month, EU ambassadors agreed they would review the implementation of the Ukraine peace plan by the end of September.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy held out the possibility that, if the situation on the ground warranted it, EU sanctions could be amended, suspended, even fully repealed.
A cease-fire between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine, which took effect on September 5 and has been regularly violated, "has finally begun working," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday.
"For me, the analysis is that the conditions are so far not ripe to reverse course," one EU diplomat said, ahead of a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the peace plan.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Addressing the UN General Assembly, EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia has triggered "the gravest treat to the European security order in decades."
He also stressed the need for Kyiv to "move firmly" forward on the path of economic, political, and constitutional reforms. Those reforms, he said, will determine the success of "a lasting political solution."
Also just in from our News Desk:
The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations has welcomed the Minsk agreements establishing a cease-fire in Ukraine as an "important opportunity" to find a political solution to the conflict.
In a statement on September 25, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States condemned violations of the September 5 cease-fire and called on Russia to withdraw all of its forces, weapons, and equipment from eastern Ukraine.
The G7 also commended Ukraine for passing legislation on amnesty and a "special status" for parts of the country's east and welcomed the ratification of a free-trade agreement with the European Union, some provisions of which are being delayed until the end of 2015.
The countries said they would roll back sanctions against Russia when it meets its commitments according to the Minsk agreement and cease-fire.