FX.co ★ U.S. and EU band together against Russia

The threat of sanctions on Russia seems to turn into the real actions. Thus, a new round of sanctions against Russia’s economy is underway. So ‘not serious’ sanctions are now to be expanded with some new points. The EU and U.S. are being united to retaliate against Russia and, according to some European leaders, it is only the beginning. French President Francois Hollande told he is ready to move forward and adopt new sanctions. Russia "must contribute to de-escalation and abstain from provocative statements and intimidating maneuvers," and “make every effort to implement the Geneva agreement,” Hollande's office said. Angela Merkel has the similar opinion. She urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to make separatists in Eastern Ukraine stand down. “Such signals have far unfortunately failed to materialize”, Merkel said. The EU is the largest trading partner of Russia that is a serious lever to have economic impact on Moscow. However, the EU is not in a hurry to impose sanctions since Russia is one of its largest suppliers of oil and natural gas. In the meantime, Russian military exercises alongside the Ukrainian border add fuel to the fire. The military build-up is estimated by NATO at up to 40,000 troops. International experts say it is Russia’s response to the anti-terrorist operation of the Ukrainian army in the east of the country. In his turn, U.S. President Barack Obama does not rule out the possibility of tougher sanctions against Russia. According to him, the EU and U.S. must work together to stop the destabilization of Ukraine. Thus, NATO sent its forces to Eastern Europe and announced large-scale joint military exercises there. The pro-Western government in Kiev blamed Russia for backing armed separatists and planning to invade Eastern Ukraine.