Merkel, Hollande warn on Russia sanctions revealing EU split

Germany and France said the European Union won't rush to impose economic sanctions on Russia for the annexation of Crimea, as the US stepped up its measures against the Kremlin and its allies.

Germany, which is Russia's biggest EU trading partner, expects the 28-country bloc to expand "stage two" measures in place including travel bans and asset freezes, Chancellor Angela Merkel said before an EU summit in Brussels. It is too early to move to economic retaliation, she said.

"There will be an expansion of what we call stage two," Merkel said. "We will make very clear that in the case of further escalation we will be ready to introduce economic sanctions."

"We have to also think about other sanctions if there is an escalation," French President Francois Hollande said before the summit. "If there are illegitimate claims, if there are troop operations, if there are threats, then there will be other sanctions."