Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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691. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the sanctions by the G7 states against Russia. [23785/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The annual summit of G7 countries took place in Elmau, Germany on 7-8 June. The conflict in Ukraine was among a number of important foreign policy issues which was discussed. In their summit declaration, G7 leaders expressed full support for the efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict within the framework of the Normandy format and the OSCE Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. They called on all sides to fully implement the ceasefire and withdraw all heavy weapons from the contact line. On economic sanctions against Russia, the G7 agreed that the duration of existing restrictive measures should be clearly linked to the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. This is foreseen by 31 December 2015 under the terms of the Package of Measures signed by the parties to the conflict on 12 February in Minsk. The G7 also reaffirmed that the sanctions could be strengthened or relaxed depending on developments. This is consistent with the EU position on economic sanctions against Russia as agreed at the March European Council.