The United States and its partners may toughen sanctions against Russia if Moscow fails to change its policy towards Ukraine, the US Department of State has said.
“We have a broad understanding and a similar point of view with our European partners with respect to the steps Russia needs to take and the ways in which the costs to Russia should increase if they fail to abide by the agreements,” spokesman Jeff Rathke said at a press briefing on Friday.
EU countries not ready to escalate economic sanctions against Russia
Washington remains “in contact with the European partners” and continues discussions on the issue.
Rathke insisted however that “there’s no military resolution to the crisis in eastern Ukraine.”
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated amid the Ukrainian crisis, as the US and the EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia, and Moscow responded with a ban on food imports from countries that sanctioned it.
The West accuses Russia of aiding militias in eastern Ukraine, while Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims condemning Kiev’s operation as war against Ukraine’s own people.
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