BERLIN, Aug 29 - Sanctions on Russia will be lifted once Moscow agrees to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine and no sooner, CNBC reported Tuesday citing German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

The German leader said that the removal of sanctions would be economically beneficial to both Russia and Germany but insisted that Moscow would have to cease its imposition on Ukraine before these sanctions could be lifted and the advantages felt.

"Ukraine does not have full sovereignty," Merkel told reporters Tuesday at her annual summer news conference in Berlin.

Russia has been subject to sanctions from the European Union, the U.S. and several countries since 2014 when it backed pro-Russian and anti-government groups in the Donbass regions of eastern Ukraine, resulting in major conflict and the annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

Merkel, along with France's leader, has since tried to convince Russia and Ukraine to implement a fragile ceasefire agreement under the 'Minsk' agreement but to little avail.

"I am working together with the French President and also with the help of the United States on finding solutions (for the Ukraine crisis) within the Normandy format," Merkel said.

On Monday, during a joint conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Merkel called for Russia to do more to end the fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists which has so far claimed more than 10,000 lives and remains an issue of tense conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin

"We just made clear in our joint statement released yesterday that the observance of the ceasefire agreement is of the utmost importance.

"If the Minsk agreement is kept, then the requirement will be met for lifting the sanctions on Russia," Merkel insisted, noting that the move would be "good for the Russian economy as well as good for the German economy."

The imposition of sanctions has badly hurt Russia's economy, as well as hitting a number of EU countries.

Forces fighting in eastern Ukraine have committed to a ceasefire before the start of the new school year, OSCE representative Ambassador Martin Sajdik said Thursday.

Shelling has previously marred the September 1 return to school for children - an occasion that is widely celebrated in Ukraine.

However, past ceasefires have failed to bring about a prevailing peace.

The OSCE said that the group representing Ukraine, Russia and its own monitors in the conflict-torn Donbass region "reiterate their full commitment to permanent ceasefire on the occasion of the beginning of the school year, from midnight on August 25, 2017". (cnbc/ez)