EU warns Russia against 'new wave of sanctions' if 'new peace deal' not implemented fully

A day after the four-way talks between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine to reach a new truce deal concluded, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned Moscow that it will face a new wave of sanctions if a deal to end the Ukraine conflict is not implemented fully.

Merkel said that European Union (EU) leaders had asked officials to prepare further sanctions in case the new ceasefire deal was not respected, the BBC reported.

The leaders of the four nations reached an agreement on Thursday following intense talks in Belarus.

The ceasefire is due to take effect in eastern Ukraine at midnight on Saturday but both sides remain skeptical.

Pro-Russia separatists too have signed the deal, which includes weapon withdrawals and prisoner exchanges. However, key issues still remain to be settled.

Meanwhile, fighting raged between the government forces and rebels as a rebel commander declared that his forces would not stop fighting.

The conflict has killed at least thousands of people in the region.