Ukraine progress should soften sanctions on Russia - Germany's Gabriel

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Saturday he favoured easing some sanctions imposed on Russia if a ceasefire could be implemented in eastern Ukraine with the help of U.N. peacekeepers. A Russia-backed separatist insurgency led to fighting in eastern Ukraine that has killed around 10,000 people since 2014. While the Kremlin denies providing military support for separatists there, the European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on Russia for backing the rebels and for annexing Crimea from Ukraine.