EU must be ready with Russia sanctions over Ukraine - Britain

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets British Foreign Minister William Hague during a brief meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool

ATHENS (Reuters) - Britain urged its European Union partners on Friday to press ahead with preparing tough economic sanctions against Russia, saying large numbers of Russian forces remained on Ukraine's eastern border and there had been only a "token" withdrawal.

"We haven't seen real de-escalation by Russia and therefore Europe must not relax in preparing a third tier of sanctions and making sure we continue to have a strong and united response," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Athens.