Lew: G-7 united on possible more Russia sanctions

Today 7:24 PM ET (MarketWatch)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The G-7 is united on increasing sanctions against Russia if the crisis in Ukraine escalates, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Friday. 

"There was no dissent in the [G-7 meeting] that it was essential that there be unity in taking action if necessary," Lew said at a press conference after talks with international officials at the International Monetary Fund/World Bank spring meeting. 

"The purpose is to make it clear to Russia that they need to step back," he said. "If they don't...there will be unity in the world in responding to that," he said. Lew said there was broader understanding in Congress of the need for IMF reform but that extraneous political issues torpedoed the legislation last month. Earlier Friday, the G-20 set a deadline of the end of the year for Congressional action on IMF reform. 

The group said they would explore moving ahead on reform options without the United States.
-Greg Robb; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 11, 2014 19:24 ET (23:24 GMT)
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