KYIV, Sept 24 – Russia pays a high economic price for its aggression, and without sanctions, "Putin would not be engaged in the Normandy process, designed to find a peaceful solution," President Petro Poroshenko said.

"Sanctions are the only non-military instrument that we have at our disposal in order to put pressure on the aggressor in such a situation. In general, this does not mean punishing Russia. The goal is to keep Putin at the negotiating table. And in this sense sanctions are very effective," the presidential press service said on Saturday, referring to Poroshenko's interview with the German newspaper Rheinische Post.