The U.S. and other nations in the Group of Seven have agreed to impose new, targeted sanctions against Russia, after concluding the Kremlin isn’t abiding by a recent agreement struck in Geneva that was intended to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
The White House said the U.S. could levy its sanctions “as early as Monday.” And European Union leaders also have agreed to act on Monday to intensify sanctions.
The G-7 statement came after a conference call U.S. President Barack Obama held on Friday with European leaders and followed several days of warnings that Russia would face additional costs if Moscow didn’t heed the Geneva accord.
In the statement, leaders left no doubt that new sanctions would be imposed by the G-7, which includes the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
EU ambassadors will meet Monday, an EU official said, to decide on an additional list of individuals to be hit with travel bans and asset freezes. The EU heads of state and government plan to formally adopt the sanctions by day’s end.
U.S. and European officials have differed on the amount of financial pain to impose on Russia, and as they prepare to move forward with new sanctions, the U.S. and the EU each will decide on their own targets. “These sanctions will be coordinated and complementary, but not necessarily identical,” a senior U.S. official said.
As the G-7 leaders considered their sanctions strategy, the situation in eastern Ukraine continued to deteriorate. A group of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was taken hostage by pro-Russian militants. And Col. Steve Warren, the top Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday that Russian aircraft had entered Ukrainian airspace on several occasions during the previous 24 hours.
The White House said the U.S. could levy its sanctions “as early as Monday.” And European Union leaders also have agreed to act on Monday to intensify sanctions.
The G-7 statement came after a conference call U.S. President Barack Obama held on Friday with European leaders and followed several days of warnings that Russia would face additional costs if Moscow didn’t heed the Geneva accord.
In the statement, leaders left no doubt that new sanctions would be imposed by the G-7, which includes the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.
EU ambassadors will meet Monday, an EU official said, to decide on an additional list of individuals to be hit with travel bans and asset freezes. The EU heads of state and government plan to formally adopt the sanctions by day’s end.
U.S. and European officials have differed on the amount of financial pain to impose on Russia, and as they prepare to move forward with new sanctions, the U.S. and the EU each will decide on their own targets. “These sanctions will be coordinated and complementary, but not necessarily identical,” a senior U.S. official said.
As the G-7 leaders considered their sanctions strategy, the situation in eastern Ukraine continued to deteriorate. A group of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was taken hostage by pro-Russian militants. And Col. Steve Warren, the top Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday that Russian aircraft had entered Ukrainian airspace on several occasions during the previous 24 hours.