WASHINGTON, September 4 (RIA Novosti) – US President Barack Obama and leaders of several European countries agreed Thursday that more sanctions should be imposed on Russia, US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Thursday.
“The leaders reiterated their condemnation of Russia's continued flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and agreed on the need for Russia to face increased costs for its actions,” Rhodes said.
President Obama met with the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Ukraine. The US leader and his European counterparts “expressed solidarity with Ukraine, and pledged their continued support for its democracy,” the White House official said.
Western countries have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing it of expanding forces on the border with eastern Ukraine and supplying independence supporters with weapons, thus escalating the crisis, a claim Moscow has denied.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward a seven-point peace plan for Ukraine, which will be discussed at the Friday meeting of the Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation in the Belarusian capital Minsk.
