Progress on Ukraine reforms can boost case for Russia sanctions - Rasmussen

Former NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen speaks during a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Ukraine, in this September 10, 2015 handout photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service Rasmussen arrived in Kiev to take part in the 12th Yalta European Strategy annual meeting, according to Poroshenko's official website. REUTERS/Mykhailo Markiv/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine will find it easier to persuade European Union countries to renew sanctions against Russia this summer if it shows progress in pushing reforms and tackling corruption, the former chief of NATO told Reuters on Saturday.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen was appointed an adviser to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Friday, having been NATO secretary-general when Ukraine plunged into conflict with Russian-backed separatists following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.