Despite helping to broker the peace deal alongside her French counterpart Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that European officials were preparing fresh economic sanctions against Russia in case the truce did not hold.  It could be a case of once bitten, twice shy: an earlier cease-fire failed to keep to peace, and fighting between pro-Russia separatists and the Ukraine military in the east of the country resumed in September last year.  European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday that the region's leaders were wary of the accord.  "We are very cautious after a bad experience with the so-called 'Minsk 1' peace deal so it's obvious you have to be very cautious," he told a press conference after a European Union summit. "Our trust in the goodwill in President Putin is limited -- this is why we have to maintain our decision on sanctions."  Following the summit, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb told CNBC Thursday that Russia risked being left out in the cold if it did not abide by the deal.  "If Putin doesn't grab the hand of peace at this stage I think we'll be in this for the long haul," he said.  "We're 25 years into the end of the Cold War and we've felt that Russia should have become more international and part of the international community. If they now reject this peace deal I think they'll be out in the cold for a long time."  Stubb warned that "the ink is not dry" on the deal, which might not even be implemented. "I see a glimmer of hope but I'm not confident this will last," he said.
As the dust settles on the newly-signed peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, European leaders and experts are questioning President Putin's motives.