 |
| pc:www.wadsam.com |
In the words of Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State. I quote;
"To press Moscow to bring an end to the violence in Ukraine and fully implement it's commitments under the Minsk agreements, we have worked with the EU, the G7 and other like-minded nations to impose successive rounds of tough, economic sanctions on Russia over the past two years. These sanctions, combined with low oil prices and Russia's continued structural weaknesses, have imposed significant costs.
While Moscow has not yet changed it's approach to Ukraine, our readiness to toughen sanctions even further has likely played a role in deterring further Russian efforts to grab Ukrainian territory."
She stated further that U.S is now working
"to ensure EU sanctions are rolled over at the end of this month, and to support France and Germany in their lead diplomatic role to push for full implementation of the Minsk agreements."
"By 2014, however, we had no choice but to re-evaluate our assumptions following Russia's invasion of Sovereign Ukrainian territory; firt in Crimea then in Eastern Ukraine - which shattered any remaining illusions about this Kremlin's willingness to abide by international law or live by the rules of the Institution that Russia joined at the end of the cold war"
She mentioned NATO is strengthening up positions in Eastern Europe to protect other countries from pressure from Moscow.
"To counter the threat posed by Russia's aggression and deter any military moves against NATO territory, over the past 2 years the United States and our NATO Allies have maintained a persistent, rotational military presence on land, sea, and air all along NATO's eastern edge — in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the three Baltic States."
She added;
"As we look toward the NATO summit in Warsaw in July, Allies will institutionalize a more sustained approach to deterrence, including by enhancing forward presence in the East to reduce response times to any aggression."
credit: uatoday.tv
