President Obama and other world leaders said Sunday there would be no lifting on the economic sanctions against Russia until it reaches a formal peace agreement with the Ukraine. Obama said they were “standing up to Russian aggression.”
The leaders were meeting in the small German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the annual conference of the “Group of Seven” leading democratic industrial powers, also known as the G-7. World leaders from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada, were present. It was the second year in a row Russia was barred from attending.
In a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama said it was important to maintain “the sanctions regime to put pressure on Russian and separatist forces. … We think that there can be a peaceful, diplomatic resolution to this problem, but it’s going to require that Europe, the United States and the Transatlantic Partnership, as well as the world, stay vigilant.”
At a separate news conference, European Council President Donald Tusk, who is Polish, agreed the sanctions should stay in place until Russia relents. “Our group is not only a political and economic group of interests, but first of all this is a community of values,” Tusk said.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!