U.S. to keep sanctions imposed on Russia, Haley says
6 June 2017
The U.S. government has no plans to relax or cancel its sanctions imposed against Russian citizens and enterprises for their military aggression in Ukraine, U.S. Representative to the UN Nikki Haley told CNN in a June 5 interview. The U.S. will continue to pressure Russia until it takes responsibility for fulfilling its end of the Minsk Accords, she said.
During the weekend, at least two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and five injured in fighting in occupied Donbas, according to Ukrainian government reports. At least 53 attacks from Russian-backed forces targeted Ukrainian soldiers this weekend. The war in Donbas began in April 2014 between Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian government.
Zenon Zawada: As we’ve noted, U.S. President Trump has abandoned any plans to improve relations with the Russians, keeping Obama’s foreign policy in place. However, we don’t rule out attempts to relax sanctions in the future. For that, Trump will need firm backing in the U.S. Congress, which he doesn’t have yet.
Unfortunately for Ukraine, that means that low-level fighting will continue, producing a handful of casualties and injuries every week. This is an enormous drag on the economy. And while this fighting no longer makes the Western news broadcasts, it’s enough to cause investors to hesitate from coming here. So in spite of the costs of war, including Western sanctions, Putin is accomplishing his geopolitical aim of weakening the Ukrainian state.
