Putin: Ready to meet Trump on arms race, rejoin G8

 Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday he wants to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump over the concerns of a new arms race and supports another suggestion by Trump to return to the G8.

EU rejects Trump call to allow Russia back into industrialized nations club

The president of the European Council on Friday rejected a call by the president of the United States and Italy's new prime minister to allow Russia back into the G-8, a club of industrialized nations that became the G-7 when Moscow was suspended in 2014.

G7 threatens to intensify sanctions on Russia over Ukraine crisis. - G-7 Leaders Statement

Group of seven (G7) leaders on Wednesday urged Russia to complete its troop withdrawal from the Ukrainian border, saying they stood ready to intensify targeted sanctions against Russia.

The group of industrialized nations welcomed the May 25 election in Ukraine and Petro Poroshenko's election as Ukraine's new president, according to a statement issued after the first day meeting of the G7 summit.

Introductory statement by President Barroso on Ukraine. -José Manuel Durão Barroso, European Commission

European Parliament Plenary debate, Strasbourg, 12 March 2014. -"Mr. President, Honourable members, Very serious concerns remain over the situation in Ukraine. And I would like to start by saying how grateful we are for the constant attention that this Parliament has been giving to this most important crisis. I know that the Parliament, as an institution, and many of you in this room have been deploying considerable energy and time to help find a solution. And I hope that we can put all our efforts along the same lines to support Ukraine, a European country. 

Remarks at the OSCE Special Permanent Council Meeting on Ukraine. -Victoria Nuland Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

 Vienna, Austria,March 3, 2014
Thank you Madam Chair.
My thanks to Ambassador Guldimann for being here, to the Ambassador for Ukraine, and to all the chairs of the OSCE institutions.
There should be no question where the United States stands on this matter. The President has been clear; we have also joined a statement at NATO of the 28 allies, we’ve also joined a G7 statement. We consider Russia’s actions in Ukraine to be a violation of international law and a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the independent nation of Ukraine, and a breach of Russia’s Helsinki Commitments and its UN obligations.

Obama: There Will Be Costs for Russian Military Intervention in Ukraine

A top U.S. official says the United States and European leaders may skip the G8 economic summit in Sochi, Russia later this year if the Russian military intervenes in Ukraine.

The official said Friday that deeper trade ties and other commercial projects with Russia could also be canceled.

President Barack Obama says there will be costs for any Russian military moves in Ukraine. In a brief statement to reporters at the White House, he said any violation of Ukrainian sovereignty by Russia would be deeply destabilizing.