EU ministers to discuss Ukraine crisis sanctions, reforms, engaging Russia

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will discuss how to respond to elections that separatists in eastern Ukraine held on Nov 2 as well as ways to launch reforms in Ukraine and engage Russia in finding a solution to the conflict. "We will discuss what will be the best option today to react to the so called elections on November 2 which we all said were illegal and illegitimate and might require some reaction from the European Union's side," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters on arrival for the talks. "Sanctions in themselves are not an objective. They can be an instrument if they come together with other measures. I think it's time that the European Union and the ministers concentrate also on the other issues we have to build to have a complete strategy," she said. "That means on the one side asking the Ukrainians again to commit to reforms and to find a way to better assist them on reforms because the best way to get ahead is to make Ukraine a success. Also, (we have to see) to engage in a dialogue with Russia and the European Union. These will be the three tracks of our discussion today," she said. (Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Rober-Jan Bartunek)