President Obama on Monday said the sanctions imposed against Russia in response to that country’s push into Ukraine have helped push Russia’s economy into a recession.
“Russia is in deep recession, so Russia’s actions are hurting Russia and the Russian people,” Obama said at the conclusion of the G-7’s two-day summit in Krün, Germany. Obama said the ruble is down, as is foreign investment in Russia and Moscow’s central bank reserves, while inflation is rising in Russia.
Obama also said Russia’s absence from the G-7 for the second year in a row is “another example of Russia’s isolation.” Russia was kicked out of what was the G-8 after it annexed Crimea.
Obama called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s effort to recreate the “glories” of the Soviet empire “wrong-headed” and detrimental to his country’s bottom line.
The G-7 summit was widely expected to reaffirm sanctions against Russia because of its actions in and around Ukraine, and the group did just that in a final declaration released Monday morning. “We reiterate our condemnation of the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by the Russian Federation and reaffirm our policy of its non-recognition,” the summit declaration read. “We reiterate our full support for the efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.”
Obama said his European counterparts agreed to continue financial sanctions beyond their July expiration when the European Council meets at month’s end, until Russia lives up to the ceasefire terms agreed upon in Minsk, Belarus, last year. The U.S. has called on Russia for the last several months to live up to a second ceasefire that was agreed in February.
“We recall that the duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to Russia’s complete implementation of the Minsk agreements and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty,” the summit declaration read. “They can be rolled back when Russia meets these commitments. However, we also stand ready to take further restrictive measures in order to increase cost on Russia should its actions so require.”
