Tusk: Sanctions on Russia could be strengthen

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during the G-7 meeting on Sunday that sanctions against Russia can be soften only if the Minsk peace agreement singed in February is fully implemented. This year's meeting of the leading industrialized democracies was second in the row without Russia, which was ejected from the formula due to the Ukrainian conflict. Although Putin was absent, the issue of Russian sanctions was on the table and world leaders expressed their support for Merkel's stance. European Union President Donald Tusk said that if the peace agreement is not fully implemented, there will be no talks on softening the sanctions. "If anyone wants to start a debate about changing the sanctions regime, the discussion could only be about strengthening them," said Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister and the current President of the European Council. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will make sure that "solidarity with Ukraine" was also on the agenda for the next G-7 summit, which is being held in Japan.