U.S.'s Lew talks to rich nations' ministers on pressuring Russia

Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew stops for a question from a reporter during a cybersecurity-related tour of a Verizon network operations center at their facility in Ashburn, Virginia July 15, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew spoke by phone with top ministers from Germany and other rich nations about pressuring Russia to stop its military support of Ukrainian separatists, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday. U.S. and European leaders agreed this week to impose wider sanctions on Russia's financial, defense and energy sectors. Lew spoke individually by phone with the ministers from Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Britain and Singapore, the Treasury said in a statement. "They discussed the international community’s continued and coordinated responses to Russia’s destabilizing actions and the need to continue to press Russia to choose a diplomatic path," the Treasury said. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Paul Simao)