OBAMA TARGETS RUSSIA AT G-7

U.S. urges group to keep sanctions over Ukraine

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, World leaders holding GERMANY talks in Germany said Sunday they would push to maintain economic sanctions on Russia until a peace plan for Ukraine is fully implemented.

President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the issue as the two-day Group of Seven, or G-7, summit, got underway. The White House said “the duration of the sanctions should be clearly linked to Russia’s full implementation of the Minsk agreements and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

The White House statement was referring to the cease-fire deal reached in February during talks in Minsk, Belarus.

Obama on Monday will also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider-al-Abadi, who may press the U.S. and its allies for more military support to combat the Islamic State militants.

Leaders from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are meeting here in Germany’s Alpine region near the border with Austria. The European Union is also represented. Russia was excluded for the second year in a row for backing Ukrainian separatists — an allegation it denies.

The push to extend sanctions targeting Russia’s economy and banks comes even as Washington has admitted the measures have not dramatically shifted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position about the conflict in Ukraine.

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said at a news conference that Russia would not be invited back as long as it behaves aggressively against Ukraine and other countries. “Our group is not only a political and economic group of interests, but first of all this is a community of values,” the Polish politician said.

Obama arrived in Munich, early Sunday, then flew by helicopter to the mountain village of Kruen to sample Bavarian food and meet with Merkel, an ally whose diplomatic patience was tested by revelations that the National Security Agency had tapped her cellphone. Amid a few jokes about leder

hosen and beer, Obama said the G-7 would stand up to Russian aggression in Ukraine, combat violent extremism, as well as discuss climate change and trade.