Merkel says largely up to Russia whether EU sanctions eased

KRUEN, Germany (Reuters) - Any loosening of European Union sanctions against Russia over Ukraine lies to a large extent in Moscow's hands, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday.

Merkel said an easing the sanctions was conditional on full implementation of an April ceasefire agreement agreed in the Belarus capital Minsk that largely halted fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.