EU agrees to widen Ukraine sanctions but waits on implementation

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius addresses the media during the 15th Delhi Sustainable Development Summit organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi February 5, 2015. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU foreignf ministers approved on Monday putting visa bans and asset freezes on more Ukrainian separatists and Russians but will wait until Feb. 16 to implement the measures to give peace efforts more time, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany will meet in Minsk, Belarus, on Wednesday to try to broker a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. "The principle of these sanctions remains but the implementation will depend on results on the ground," Fabius said. "We will see by Monday and see how the meeting in Minsk went," he said. (Reporting by Robin Emmott; editing by Adrian Croft)