US President Barack Obama visited the National Mosque of Malaysia on Sunday morning as he pursued his tour of Asia.<br /><br />But throughout the four-nation trip, events in Ukraine are never far away from the agenda.<br /><br />More sanctions against Moscow are being <br />announced, possibly as early as Monday, but what of broader punitive measures targeting Russia’s economy?<br /><br />For the US president, a united front with Europe is crucial.<br /><br />“The notion that for us to go forward with sectoral sanctions on our own, without the Europeans, would be the most effective deterrent to Mr Putin, I think it is factually wrong,” Obama told a news conference. <br /><br />“We are going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr Putin when he sees that the world is unified and the United States and Europe is unified rather than this is just a US-Russian conflict.”<br /><br />Outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, dozens of protesters denounced a planned trade deal that would link a dozen Asia-Pacific economies including Malaysia and the US.<br /><br />Obama has also pledged stronger bilateral ties and offered more American help in searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.
