US, EU agree on new sanctions against Russia if it fails to defuse tensions in Ukraine - White House

09:28, 23.06.2014 1 min read

The leaders of the United States, France and Germany have agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia if it fails to take concrete steps to de-escalate tensions in southeastern Ukraine, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

"They agreed that should Russia fail to take immediate, concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine, the United States and the European Union would coordinate additional steps to impose costs on Russia," reads the statement.

It notes that this agreement was reached during U.S. President Barack Obama's telephone conversations with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The statement also says that Obama, Hollande and Merkel welcomed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's cease-fire and urged Russia to pull back its military presence on the border, stop the flow of weapons and militants across the boundary and use its clout to persuade separatists to stand down.