(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) US President Barack Obama will arrive in Germany on Sunday, ahead of the annual G7 leaders meeting which will once again exclude Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House officials told reporters.
The continued Russian aggression in Ukraine will top the agenda this year, but Iran, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Libya, and massive trade legislation will also dominate the talks between the world's largest industrialized nations, officials said.
"I think we will affirm the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia to incentivize full implementation of the Minsk agreement, and also to serve as a deterrent against further Russian aggression," said Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications at the White House.
"It's very important coming out of these G7 meetings that the world is seen as speaking with one voice in support of those important consequences that have been imposed on Russia, and to demonstrate that Russia will continue to face those sanctions until a diplomatic solution is fully implemented," he added.
There may also be an expansion of the US and European sanctions on Russia, in light of the recent increase in violence in eastern Ukraine, officials said.
"It's important to indicate going forward that if we see additional Russian aggression, we have additional tools in our own arsenal that could be deployed if we see an escalation of Russian and separatist activity," Rhodes noted.
But communications with Russia have not been cut off, nor will they be, he emphasized.
"We've always said to the Europeans that we have lines of communication open with Russia precisely because we believe there should be a political dialogue and resolution of these issues. The Europeans certainly have the same type of dialogue," Rhodes said, referring to Secretary of State John Kerry's trip to Sochi last month, where he met with Putin.
"Secretary Kerry's trip was not focused just on Ukraine. In fact, it was an important opportunity to check in with the Russians on the prospects for a diplomatic effort in Syria to pursue an end to the conflict there, and on the P5+1 negotiations with Iran," he affirmed.
"So we have a lot of different issues, including some where we have been able to maintain cooperation with Russia, like the P5+1 negotiations." As the June 30 deadline approaches for the finalization of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) which would restrict Iran's nuclear capabilities, Rhodes noted that this is "the last opportunity the President will have to be in the same venue with the leaders of several of our key partners in the P5+1 negotiations." Obama will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and French President Francois Hollande "to make sure that we are in lockstep with our key allies at the negotiating table," Rhodes said.
"Political directors are currently meeting in Vienna to pursue the comprehensive deal with Iran based on the Lausanne framework," he added.
As for the counter-ISIL effort, Obama is expected to have bilateral meetings on the issue with Cameron and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi, who will be attending the relevant sessions.
"This is an opportunity for the leaders of some of the key coalition countries to sit down with Prime Minister Abadi to affirm the importance of continuing our efforts to degrade ISIL through our air campaign inside of Iraq, but also through our efforts to reinforce and train and equip Iraqi security forces as they seek to reclaim territory taken by ISIL, and ultimately to degrade and push ISIL out of territory that it has taken inside of Iraq," Rhodes said.
Among the African leaders expected to attend the G7 summit in Germany are newly-elected Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as Tunisian President Caid Beji Essebsi, White House officials said.
"Nigeria recently just had the first truly democratic transition in its history," Rhodes said.
"There's also been very significant progress made against Boko Haram in recent months, substantially shrinking the territory in which Boko Haram operates in Nigeria. That's due to the efforts of the Nigerian security forces, but also several of Nigeria's neighbors. So it will be an opportunity to sit down with this new President and discuss ways in which we can try to keep Boko Haram on the defensive." Tunisia, meanwhile, is viewed by Obama as "a potential model for a successful democratic transition in a very difficult part of the world," he said. "Tunisia has very significant challenges, but the G7 countries can play an important role in providing political support, economic assistance to Tunisia to go forward." And as Europe struggles with the influx of migrants fleeing war-torn African and Middle Eastern nations through Libya, that country will also be a priority for Obama at the summit, Rhodes affirmed.
"Thus far, we have focused on supporting the UN-led efforts to forge a political resolution to the conflict in Libya so that there can be a national unity government established," he said.
"Both we and those European leaders the President will be meeting with are committed to supporting that UN process because that's what's necessary for there to be the type of framework in place that can allow for a return to stability," he stressed.
On the economic front, two trade agreements the Obama Administration has been pushing for years will also be on the agenda: the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the largest European economies, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the Canadian and Japanese economies, officials revealed.
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