Obama warns of another round of sanctions against Russia

While in Warsaw on June 3, U.S. President Barack Obama called upon the Russian government to being a constructive dialogue with the Ukrainian government and to prevent the flow of armed fighters into Ukraine. “Further sanctions are a threat to Russia if it doesn’t change its politics,” Obama said, adding that he will ask the U.S. Congress for an additional billion dollars in financing to strengthen NATO’s presence in Europe. “The U.S. has the intention of deploying more forces in Europe,” he said, adding that training will be expanded to enhance the preparedness of forces.

NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated on June 3 that the organization considers Crimea to be Ukrainian territory and demanded that the Russian government return the peninsula, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. “The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation was illegal,” he said. NATO is still waiting for Russia to take steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, including removing its army from Ukraine’s border. Although the process has begun, tens of thousands remain along the border, he said. As its second de-escalation measure, NATO demands that Russia halt its support for armed gangs of separatists that have taken control of administrative buildings and have taken hostage OSCE representatives. The third demand is for Russia to honor its international commitments, he said.

The Ukrainian government plans to file a criminal complaint that will serve as the basis for seeking one trillion hryvnias in damages caused by the illegal takeover and theft of land by the Russian government, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the Ukrainian parliament on June 3. “Problems lie in the international legal arena,” he said. “There aren’t many options of where to file the complaint. But not revealing all the legal details, we will use all possible and legal methods to bring the Russian Federation to court.” The Ukrainian government has already filed two complaints against Russia in the European Court for Human Rights.

Zenon Zawada: Sanctions were successful in preventing a Russian military invasion of Ukraine’s mainland and sabotage attempts of the May 25 election. They can also be effective in halting Russian support for the current military campaign in eastern Ukraine considering that it’s losing momentum and the Russian elite has evidently grown weary that it hasn’t produced any gains. A new round of sanctions could force the Russian government to have to decide whether to intensify the armed campaign in Ukraine, which poses too many risks in our view, or halt it altogether, which is more likely.