BRUSSELS, Dec. 2 - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday Western sanctions have not halted Russia's support for separatists in Ukraine but have damaged the Russian economy, which is now projected to slide into recession next year, Reuters reported.

A senior State Department official, accompanying Kerry to a NATO meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, said he would talk to allies about imposing further sanctions on Russia if pro-Moscow separatists do not cease violence in Ukraine.