“We are clear that until Minsk is completed, sanctions will not be lifted," US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said Saturday in Kiev.
“If and when Minsk is fully implemented, including return of Ukraine’s sovereignty to its border, we can begin to roll back some sanctions, but if Minsk is further violated there will be more,” Nuland told Yalta European Strategy conference.
At a summit in Minsk, Belarus on February 11, 2015, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to a package of measures to alleviate the ongoing conflict in the eastern region of Ukraine.
Nuland said Russia and “its proxies” in Ukraine’s two eastern regions are “still a great threat” and must observe the truce accords signed in Minsk.
She threatened that Washington will push the European Union to increase sanctions as well. “We need to use the carrot of sanctions rollback and stick of further sanctions.”
The United States and the European Union say Russia is stoking the military conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies any involvement.
The conflict in Ukraine Syria has driven a wedge between Moscow and the West.
Moscow and Washington have had major differences over the crisis in Syria as well.
On Friday, US President Barack Obama warned Russia against the continuation of arming the Syrian government in its fight against the Takfiri Daesh terrorists.
While the Kremlin lends support to Damascus in its fight against Daesh, the White House wants to see President Bashar al-Assad toppled.
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