Nuland: Sanctions against Russia will continue until Minsk Agreements are implemented and Crimea is returned
The Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Victoria Nuland, has said that sanctions against Russia will continue until the Minsk Agreements are implemented. She stated that Russian sanctions related to the annexation of the Crimea will also continue.
“We have assured the Ukrainian President and the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs of these continuations, which were discussed during a meeting in Hanover with US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There was another meeting and it was attended by Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. We have reaffirmed our common position that the sanctions against Russia will remain in force as long as it refuses to comply with the obligations detailed in the Minsk Agreements,” Nuland explained.
Ukraine and the West have repeatedly called on Russia to cease their destabilization efforts in the Donbass region and in the Crimea. Russia has steadfastly denied any involvement while Moscow claims that there are no Russian troops in the occupied part of the Donbass region, only “volunteers”.
The Minsk Agreements, among other things, call for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and military from the territory of Ukraine.