Ukraine calls for tightening sanctions against Russia

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called upon the USA to tighten sanctions against Russia in the event that the Minsk peace deal falls through.

According to the official website of the Ukrainian President, Poroshenko met with a US Congress delegation that will take part in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session in Finland this month.

Poroshenko emphasized Ukraine’s commitment to the EU, expressed gratitude for the US training program for the Ukrainian military, and highlighted the necessity to coordinate efforts internationally and employ new sanctions in case the peace process in Ukraine is disrupted.

“It goes about a new wave of sanctions and well-coordinated actions. Russia must pay fair price for the murder of Ukrainians and occupation of Ukraine. It must be responsible for that,” the Head of State stressed.

The EU imposed sanctions on Russia in March 2014 because of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. Since then, European officials have tightened sanctions several times. On June 22, the EU announced it will extend the current sanctions package until January 2016. Both the EU and the USA have said that if the situation in the east of Ukraine deteriorates, they will tighten sanctions again.

The Minsk peace agreement was signed by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in 2014 to stabilize the situation in eastern Ukraine. Since then, the ceasefire has been violated on numerous occasion reportedly by both sides of the conflict.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session in Finland on July 5-9, but the Russian delegation will not attend. Russian authorities decided not to participate after Finland denied Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin entry into Finland for the event. Naryshkin is in the EU’s sanctions list and Finland announced they will not make an exception by issuing him a visa after Russia included him in the OSCE delegation list.