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Obama, Merkel Say Russia Sanctions Should Stay In Place

June 07, 2015

The White House says President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both agreed that economic sanctions against Russia should remain until the 'full implementation' of the Minsk II peace accord and until Moscow respects Ukraine's sovereignty.

The two leaders met on June 7 before an annual summit of leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations.

Speaking later at the G7 summit in southern Germany, Merkel said that Moscow should stay out of the G7 'community of values' for now over its actions in Ukraine.

The two-day summit was expected to produce a declaration on Ukraine from all the participants.

Merkel said she expects the G7 leaders to send a 'united signal.'

Russia was excluded from the G7 -- previously known as the G8 -- following Moscow's seizure of Crimea.

The United States and its European allies imposed several rounds of economic penalties on Russia after it annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine last year.

The Minsk II accord, agreed in February in the Belarus capital, has led to a drop in fighting, although an upsurge of violence has been reported recently in eastern Ukraine.

European monitors have blamed the recent bloodshed on Russian-backed separatists.

The West accuses Russia of backing the rebels, a charge Moscow denies.

Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron said the European Union had to stay together to keep sanctions on Russia in place, despite any pain they caused the 28-nation bloc.

'We need to make sure Europe remains united,' Cameron said.

European Union President Donald Tusk said that, since the Minsk II agreement has not been fully implemented, the only question for the EU is whether to make the sanctions against Russia even tougher.

Tusk said Russia's possible return to the group of industrialized nations would depend on a turn-around in Moscow's foreign policy.

The G7 consists of Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the United States.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/g7-obama-merkel-russia-sanctions/27058328.html

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.