EU formally adopts new sanctions against Russia

BRUSSELS - The European Council has formally adopted a package of further EU sanctions against Russia over its actions in eastern Ukraine, but is delaying the enforcement to assess the implementation of the cease-fire agreement first.

The President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said in a statement Monday the sanctions will be implemented "in the next few days."

He said that should leave time for "an assessment of the implementation of the cease-fire agreement and the peace plan."

He said the EU is prepared to review the agreed sanctions in whole or in part, depending on the situation on the ground.

In the deal signed Friday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, Ukraine, Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists agreed to an immediate cease-fire and an exchange of prisoners.

The cease-fire got off to a shaky start over the weekend, as intense shelling continued around a few rebel strongholds. However, by Monday, it appeared the warring parties had quieted down.

During a surprise trip Monday to a government stronghold in the turbulent southeast, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko defended his signing of the cease-fire, insisting that he had not agreed to it out of weakness.

He also reiterated that independence for the separatist region was off the table and that there would be no political negotiations to end the crisis other than with "elected leaders" of the region - but exactly who those leaders were was left unclear.

Those comments signaled that, even if the truce holds, eastern Ukraine's entrenched political problems are far from being resolved.