WASHINGTON
The U.S. and EU are concerned by Russia's continuous "backslide" on its commitments to the Minsk agreement earlier this year, the White House said Thursday.
For almost a year and a half, the U.S. and its European partners have worked to economically isolate the Russian government with sanctions in hopes of forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin's to pull back from aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine.
The U.S. and EU accuse Russia of supporting a pro-Russian separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine that began shortly after Russia annexed Crimea last March. Russia denies the charges.
The U.S. on Wednesday added 29 more individuals to an existing sanctions list.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Russia has not reacted the way the U.S and its European partners "would like to see", despite increasing economic pressure.
"We have not seen Russia live up to those commitments," Earnest said.
He said President Barack Obama has made clear that the U.S. and Europe are prepared to begin relieving sanctions as soon as Russia began living up to protocols of the Minsk agreement.
The Minsk cease-fire agreement includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, as well as all foreign-armed groups. However, the agreement has failed to be fully implemented, with daily reports of breaches and clashes in the region.
More than 6,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million people internally displaced in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists since April 2014, according to the United Nations.
