US President Barack Obama has arrived in Germany to join a Group of Seven summit and show unity with his European counterparts on a range of global issues amid enduring anti-Americanism there over US spying programs.

Obama arrived in Munich on Sunday to join other world leaders and urge them to expand economic sanctions against Russia over Moscow’s alleged involvement in the crisis in Ukraine.

Obama was welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the G7 meeting at the Schloss Elmau resort.

Following his arrival, President Obama said the G7 leaders would discuss "standing up to Russian aggression in Ukraine."

The United States is considering new strategies to prevent Russia from meddling in Europe, in what some officials describe as an “updated version of Cold War-era containment.”

Despite the calls for more sanctions on Moscow, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Friday in Germany that Washington needs to find new ways to address the conflict in Ukraine, citing the failure of economic sanctions against Russia.

The United States and Russia have been at loggerheads over the crisis in Ukraine after US-backed forces ousted the country’s elected president Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.

Washington accuses Moscow of orchestrating an “illegitimate referendum to annex Crimea" and fueling unrest in eastern Ukraine.

Obama relationship with Merkel has been tested in the past couple of years, particularly after it was revealed that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had tapped Merkel’s mobile phone.

The spying controversy has grown in recent weeks amid reports that Germany’s own Federal Intelligence Agency, known as BND, may have helped the NSA spy on European companies and officials as long ago as 2008.

AHT/AGB