Obama signs Freedom Support Act of Ukraine

U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 on Dec. 18, with the caveat that the White House doesn’t intend to impose sanctions under the law. The Act gives the president additional authorities that could be utilized, “if circumstances warranted,” the statement said.

In approving the Act, the White House stated that Obama was upholding his policy of not exceeding his EU counterparts in applying measures to stop Russian aggression. “Signing this legislation does not signal a change in the administration’s sanctions policy, which we have carefully calibrated in accordance with developments on the ground and coordinated with our allies and partners,” the statement said.

In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Dec. 18 that the signing of the legislation is capable of undermining the possibility of Russian-American normal cooperation for a long time. He made the statement during a telephone conversation initiated by the U.S, reported the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The version of the Freedom Support Act approved by the U.S. Senate gives Obama the ability to impose new sanctions against Russia, as well as provide lethal and non-lethal armaments, military hardware and non-military aid. Specifically, the law earmarks USD 175 mln for military aid to Ukraine and the Baltic states, USD 140 mln for economic aid, and USD 122 mln to conduct reforms in the Armed Forces and strengthen defense, as reported by Self-Reliance MP Semen Semenchenko. It also grants major non-NATO ally status to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Zenon Zawada: It’s clear that any new U.S. sanctions will be imposed only with EU agreement. The big issue here is whether the U.S. will provide lethal weapons, which is supported by the hawks in the Republican Party, which has taken control of the U.S. Congress. Yet the EU leadership is reluctant (though countries such as the U.S. and Lithuania have already been selling arms to Ukraine). We expect Obama to refrain from arms donations for as long as the conflict in the Donbas region doesn’t significantly escalate.

We expected Obama to reject this legislation because the Senate version called for granting Ukraine major non-NATO ally status. However, we examined a copy of the legislation after it was amended by the U.S. House of Representatives for submission to the president and that clause was removed. We believe such adjustments made the bill acceptable to the president.