G7 leaders urged to keep severity against Russia08.06.2015
The leaders of the "Big Seven" - G7, on the summit in the Bavarian Alps urged to maintain a tough stance toward Russia if the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, will not adhere to all points of the Minsk peace agreements which are aimed at de-escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
The situation in Ukraine and the debt problems of Greece were the dominant subjects of the first day of the annual meeting held by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the luxury hotel Schloss Elmau in southern Germany.
The West punishes Russia with sanctions because of the annexation of the Crimea and the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine that took more than 6100 lives. In the last interview with Western media, the Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to calm those who are afraid of the "aggressiveness" of Russia, calling "unhealthy" those who think that Russia could attack NATO.
On the first day of the summit, the leaders of the G7 organization urged Russia and Ukraine to adhere to the agreements Minsk – the plan for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, agreed on February 12 in the capital of Belarus.
EU leaders in March agreed to extend sanctions against the Russian Federation until the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, for now, until the end of 2015, although the formal decision is still pending.
According to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, the relief of sanctions regime is largely dependent on how Russia will behave in relation to Ukraine.
US President Barack Obama urged the other participants of the meeting "to repel Russian aggression."
President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, went further, saying: "If someone wants to start a discussion about easing the sanctions regime, then it can be only about its tightening."
The Western powers and Moscow, on Friday, traded accusations in the United Nations over the recent outbreak of violence in the east of Ukraine, where Petro Poroshenko, who is the president, ordered the army to prepare to reflect the "full-scale invasion" of Russian troops. Russia denies its military presence in Ukraine.