Obama: Europe should keep Russia sanctions until Minsk accord implemented

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the East Room of the White House in Washington April 17, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said Europe needs to keep current sanctions against Russia in place until it implements an accord known as the Minsk agreement to halt the fighting in Ukraine.

"At minimum we have to maintain the existing sanction levels until we've seen that they've carried out the steps that they're required to under the agreement," Obama said during a news conference on Friday.