Rutte, Obama agree to get tough on Russia

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and American President Barack Obama agreed in a phone conversation that imposing sanctions on Russia could be a possibility if it continues to support separatists in Ukraine. This comes from a statement by the White House. 

Sanctions against "those destabilizing Ukraine" from the EU will be welcomes by President Obama, a White House spokesperson said.

In the statement, President Obama said that the choices made by the Russian government in recent times have gone against the international community as well as the government of Ukraine. "And because of these choices, the United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia."

Obama said that sanctions will be imposed "on more senior officials of the Russian government, individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material to support these individuals."

Obama and Rutte also agreed that once the bodies of the crash victims have been repatriated, which Rutte emphasized was always top priority, their next priority would lie with securing the crash site and allowing international investigation to proceed.