'Europe must not relax' on Ukraine: UK's Hague

(ATHENS) - "Europe must not relax" on the Ukraine crisis as the situation remains tense with Russian troops making only "a token withdrawal" from the border, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Friday.

"Any withdrawal of the forces has been only a token withdrawal," said Hague on arriving for talks with his 27 European Union counterparts.

The two-day meeting is an informal gathering, however, a regular six-monthly occasion to take stock of foreign policy issues, with no decisions expected.

"We have not seen real de-escalation by Russia. Therefore Europe must not relax," Hague added.

Echoing the words of fellow-ministers, Hague said that while Europe must stand firm in its support for Ukraine it was not time to step up to a new phase of pressure with economic sanctions against Moscow.

"This moment is not for phase three sanctions but they have to be ready, because the situation remains very dangerous, very tense," he said.

"We should not be intimidated by whatever is said in Moscow," said his Dutch counterpart Frank Timmermans.

"We should stick to our strategy," which included sticking by Ukraine and moving ahead with the signature in June of political and trade deals with Georgia and Moldova, which are also likely to irritate President Vladimir Putin.

Russia on Thursday, and for the second time in three days, announced the scrapping of discounts on gas for Kiev that will lead to an 81 percent hike in gas prices for Ukrainians, one of the highest in Europe.