U.S. avoiding sanctions against Ukrainian leaders

The U.S. government doesn’t have intentions on applying sanctions against the leaders of the Ukrainian government, Baxter Hunt, director of the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs, said in a Nov. 14 interview with Voice of America. The U.S. prefers cooperating with the Ukrainian government on common tasks instead of going down the path of sanctions, he said. The statement comes after a resolution was introduced in the U.S. Senate in September calling for sanctions such as denying visas to top officials.

Zenon Zawada: The alleged vote fraud and incidents of violence in the Oct. 28 parliamentary elections weren’t enough to make Western governments turn sour on Ukraine. EU foreign ministers are planning to discuss Ukraine’s elections in Brussels on Nov. 19 and we expect the EU will adopt a similar position, avoiding sanctions. Pawel Kowal, the chairman of the EU-Ukraine parliamentary cooperation commission, told reporters in Kyiv after the elections that sanctions are not being considered.