WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States has yet to meet its objectives in sanctioning Russia while US President Barack Obama is likely to urge leaders at the G7 Summit in Germany to extend westerns sanctions against Moscow, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said during a press briefing on Thursday.
"I would acknowledge that we have not yet seen the kind of change in behavior that we have long fought now," Earnest said when asked whether more western sanctions against Russia were going to have any more effect on the country.
Earnest stressed “the longer that the sanctions are in place the more of an economic bite they take out of the Russian economy.”
In 2014, the United States, the European Union and some of their allies imposed economic sanctions on Moscow over alleged meddling into the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Moscow however, has repeatedly denied the allegations and has called for a diplomatic resolution of the crisis.
In February 2015, representatives of the Ukrainian government and the two breakaway republics signed in Minsk agreements that stipulate a ceasefire, heavy artillery withdrawal, prisoner exchange and constitutional reforms in the country.
The G7 comprises Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, the United States and Canada. Russia’s participation in the group’s meetings was suspended in March 2014.
