US Ambassador to NATO: The EU should support sanctions against Russia until the Minsk agreements are implemented
The European Union, following the United States, must maintain sanctions against Russia until the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. This was stated by U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute before the start of the meeting of NATO member countries' defense ministers in Brussels.
"We expect that the EU will join us in extending sanctions against Russia, until we see the full implementation of the Minsk agreements," Lute said. He stressed that the OSCE SMM provides convincing evidence of violations of the ceasefire in the Donbas.
"No one is satisfied with the progress of the Minsk agreements, main obligations in relation to their implementation lie on Russia and separatists. There is convincing evidence of violations provided by the OSCE SMM," the Ambassador said.
Previously it was reported that the United States does not consider the possibility of easing sanctions against the Russian Federation before the implementation of the Minsk agreements. On the contrary, the U.S. intends to expand existing sanctions to include new companies.
On September 7th, the U.S. Department of Commerce expanded the list of sanctions against companies that fall under sanctions imposed in connection with the aggression against Ukraine.
On September 15th the Council of the European Union decided to extend the sanctions for six months against 146 people and 37 organizations for aggression against Ukraine.