G7 tells Russia to end Ukraine destabilisation or face more sanctions

Leaders of the Group of Seven powers on Wednesday urged Russia to end continued actions to destabilise eastern Ukraine or face stiffer sanctions.

“Actions to destabilise eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and must stop,” the group said in a statement after talks in Brussels.

“We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require.”

The G7 countries urged Moscow to recognise the results of Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election, won by Petro Poroshenko.

They also called on Russia to “complete the withdrawal” of military forces from the Ukraine border and stop the flow of weapons and militants while using “its influence among armed separatists to lay down their weapons and renounce violence”.

Speaking at a news conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that European leaders would “take stock” of Russian actions at a summit end June and “reflect which further sanctions are necessary”.

However both Merkel and French President Francois Hollande welcomed the peaceful and successful holding of the presidential election as a step in the right direction.

“The main thing is to be constructive,” Merkel said.