U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the United States and Europe have no interest in controlling Ukraine.

"Neither the United States nor Europe has any interest in controlling Ukraine," Obama said at the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels on Wednesday.

"What we want is for the Ukrainian people to make their own decisions, just like other free people around the world," he added.

Obama also said that Russia would not be "dislodged from Crimea or deterred from further escalation by military force."

"But with time, so long as we remain united, the Russian people will recognize that they cannot achieve the security, prosperity and the status that they seek through brute force," he said.

"If the Russian leadership stays on its current course, together, we will ensure that this isolation deepens," Obama said, noting that in this case sanctions will expand.

He said that the international community would combine its substantial pressure on Russia with an open door for diplomacy.

"I believe that for both Ukraine and Russia, a stable peace will come through de-escalation, a direct dialogue between Russia and the government of Ukraine and the international community," Obama said.