[THEGUARDIAN] Barack ObamaIf you like your coverage you can keep it...
has used the close of the G7 summit in Germany to deliver his strongest criticism yet of Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
, lambasting the Russian president's isolationist approach as the seven leaders signalled their readiness to tighten sanctions against Russia if the conflict in Ukraine escalates.
"Does he continue to wreck his country's economy and continue Russia's isolation in pursuit of a wrong-headed desire to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire? Or does he recognise that Russia's greatness does not depend on violating the territorial integrity and illusory sovereignty of other countries?" the US president said at the close of the intensive discussions in Bavaria as world leaders, including the summit's host, Angela Merkel
...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as
Mom...
, presented a united front against Putin.
Why not? B.O.'s been working overtime to turn the U.S. into Lombardy...
The German chancellor stressed that while she hoped the situation in Ukraine would not worsen, the G7 leaders were prepared to implement tougher sanctions if it did. We are "ready, should the situation escalate -- which we don't want -- to strengthen sanctions if the situation makes that necessary but we believe we should do everything to move forward the political process of Minsk", Merkel said.