US Claims Europe 'Steadfast' in Sanctions on Russia - Treasury Secretary

US Department of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said that after numerous meetings with his European counterparts he has "not gotten a sense" that Europe was "stepping back from sanctions."

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Europe has not held back on imposing sanctions on Russia amid reports that European states have been reluctant to harm their countries’ close economic ties with Moscow, US Department of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said during a press conference on Friday.

"I have actually seen a steadfast [from European countries] in this, in sticking with a tough sanctions program," Lew said when asked if the Western sanctions against Russia were effective and whether European countries were hesitant to follow Washington’s lead in enforcing them.

Lew said that after numerous meetings with his European counterparts he has "not gotten a sense" that Europe was "stepping back from sanctions."

"I think it's very important that Russia understands that Europe and the United States remain united," Lew said.

Since 2014, the European Union, Washington and their allies have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia, accusing Moscow of interfering in the Ukrainian crisis — a claim that Russia has repeatedly denied.

Europe and Moscow, however, are tightly intertwined economically and export billions in goods annually.

Europe has already seen an economic slowdown since the beginning of the current sanctions regime, particularly in Germany with the export ban on deep-water drilling equipment to Russia.

Meanwhile, Baltic states including Poland, Finland and Norway have also suffered due to Russia’s food import ban.