EU would have to respond to large military offensive in Ukraine - Steinmeier

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union would have to send a clear message if pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine staged a full-blown military offensive there, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday after talks with EU counterparts.

"If there were large military offensives, for example with widespread assaults on (the port city of) Mariupol, a clear reaction would be needed," Steinmeier told reporters in Brussels.