Report: US ready to extend sanctions vs Russia – Lew

WASHINGTON, Mar 17 (PRIME) -- The U.S. is ready to toughen sanctions against Russia if it considers its actions as violation of the Minsk agreements for settling the crisis in Ukraine, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said late Monday at a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko, Bloomberg reported.

The U.S. “stands ready to increase the costs to Russia if it continues to undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and stability and fails to comply fully with the commitments it made under the Minsk Implementation Plan,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement as quoted by Bloomberg.

Lew also assured Jaresko that the U.S. will continue working with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, E.U. and other partners in order to provide Ukraine with a serious support for improving its economic potential.

Earlier on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters following a meeting with Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko that Western countries are ready to introduce new sanctions against Russia when strictly necessary, but their imposition is not an end in itself.

Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated to their worse since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The West introduced sanctions against some Russian individuals and firms and further against the energy and banking sectors. In response, Russia limited food imports from some countries, including the U.S., the E.U., Canada, Australia, and Norway.

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