G7 Snubs Russia Summit over Ukraine Crisis, Says 'Ready to Intensify' Sanctions
The G7 group of top economic powers on Monday scrapped a planned meeting to be hosted by Russia as they sought to deepen Moscow's isolation over the Ukraine crisis.
After emergency talks on the Ukraine crisis called by U.S. President Barack Obama, the G7 said they would hold a meeting in Brussels without Russia instead of the wider G8 summit that was to have taken place in Sochi.
The group also said it is ready to step up sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine that has shattered relations.
"We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy if Russia continues to escalate this situation," the G7 said in a statement after crisis talks in The Hague.
"Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and we encourage the Russian government to take them," the statement said, calling on Moscow to begin talks with Ukraine and "avail itself of offers of international mediation."
The G7 leaders condemned Russia's behavior as "not consistent" with the group's shared beliefs and shared responsibilities.
"We will suspend our participation in the G8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G8 is able to have a meaningful discussion," the statement said.
"We stand firm in our support for the people of Ukraine who seek to restore unity, democracy, political stability, and economic prosperity to their country."
Moscow's annexation of Crimea has plunged relations between the West and Russia to their lowest level since the end of the Cold War.
The G7 said it wanted "to reassure NATO members and those bordering" Russia, and called for economic reforms in Ukraine.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States met at the Dutch prime minister's residence in The Hague on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European President Herman Van Rompuy also attended the talks, held around a small circular table with the flags of the countries behind the leaders.
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, in the highest-level talks between the two countries since the crisis began.
Source: Agence France Presse
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