US ambassador: We will ‘never abandon’ sanctions until Russia is out of Crimea

Washington will ‘never abandon’ sanctions against Russia until it pulls out of Crimea, US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (‘OSCE’) James Gilmore vowed in comments to reporters.

Asked whether the US would tighten sanctions, which have been in force since Russia annexed the   Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014, Gilmore said the embargo will be maintained.

‘We’re sticking to our sanctions on Crimea, and there are separate sanctions on eastern Ukraine,’ Gilmore said at a 2 March press briefing in Washington.  ‘We will never abandon the sanctions on Crimea until they [Russia] get out of Crimea,’ he vowed.

‘We also are going to maintain our sanctions with respect to eastern Ukraine, and I think these are important measures that we take that are diplomatic actions that we take for the purpose of standing up for what’s right,’ Gilmore said.

https://www.state.gov/briefing-with-u-s-ambassador-to-the-osce-james-gilmore/