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Russia on Wednesday dismissed Washington's accusations that it has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty as "unfounded", and said it had its own complaints against the United States over the treaty. This includes... production of armed drones by the Americans, which...fall into the category of ground-based cruise missiles as defined by the Treaty," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry was reacting to Washington's allegations that Moscow had violated the 1988 accord. The exchange of the accusations took place amid the deepest East-West rift since the end of the Cold War over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and the EU and United States economic sanctions against Moscow.

G7 leaders issued a joint statement on Wednesday warning Russia that it will face added economic sanctions if Moscow does not change the course of its Ukraine policy. The statement from the leaders of the G7 countries, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain, was a show of solidarity among allies. They expressed grave about Russian actions that have undermined "Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence." "Russia still has the opportunity to choose the path of de-escalation," the statement said, a day after Europe and the United States imposed a fresh found of sanctions. "If it does not do so, however, we remain ready to further intensify the costs of its adverse actions." The G7 leaders called on all sides to establish a ceasefire at the crash site of the Malaysian jet that was shot down on July 17 in eastern Ukraine.

By Justyna Pawlak and Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission published the names of eight Russians, including some of President Vladimir Putin's associates, and three companies which will have their assets frozen as part of sanctions against Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine. The people on the list include Arkady Rotenberg who is Putin's long-time judo partner, and already on a U.S. sanctions list since March. Yury Kovalchuk and Nikolai Shamalov - the two largest shareholders in Bank Rossiya, a St. Petersburg company that expanded rapidly after Putin moved to Moscow and became president in 2000 - were also blacklisted. The companies named include Russian National Commercial Bank, which was the first Russian bank into Crimea after the region's annexation by Russia earlier this year.