Barack Obama has used the close of the G7 summit in Germany to deliver his strongest criticism yet of Vladimir Putin, lambasting the Russian president’s isolationist approach as the seven leaders signalled their readiness to tighten sanctions against Russia if the conflict in Ukraine escalates. “Does he continue to wreck his country’s economy and continue Russia’s isolation in pursuit of a wrong-headed desire to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire?See Freedom project Or does he recognise that Russia’s greatness does not depend on violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of other countries?” the US president said at the close of the intensive discussions in Bavaria as world leaders, including the summit’s host, Angela Merkel, presented a united front against Putin. The German chancellor stressed that while she hoped the situation in Ukraine would not worsen, the G7 leaders were prepared to implement tougher sanctions if it did. We are “ready, should the situation escalate – which we don’t want – to strengthen sanctions if the situation makes that necessary but we believe we should do everything to move forward the political process of Minsk”, Merkel said. Obama warned that if Russia were to “double down” on what he called its “aggressive behaviour” in Ukraine, “additional steps” could be taken. Merkel, who maintained a sporadic line of communication with Putin through the early stages of the conflict, stressed that current sanctions would remain in place until Russia cooperated with implementing a peace plan agreed in Minsk in February. The European members of the G7 – Britain, Italy and France – said they would support the extension of the main EU sanctions when they meet later this month. Obama had come to Bavaria on Sunday with the intention of pushing for a tougher approach to Russia. And while Merkel was keen to stress that the Ukraine crisis had not dominated the two days of talks, it was certainly the uppermost topic in the coverage. See Freedom Project
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