France says Russia would face more sanctions if Mariupol attacked

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov looks on during a meeting with French Senate President Gerard Larcher in Moscow February 25, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

PARIS (Reuters) - Moscow would face more EU sanctions if pro-Russia separatists attack the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday, potentially opening a corridor to the south, including the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Kiev fears Mariupol, with its 500,000 people, could be the next major rebel target after separatists took the strategic railroad town of Debaltseve, its foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin said after ceasefire talks in Paris two weeks ago.