Nikki Haley
Anti-Russian sanctions will remain in place as long as the Crimea will not return to the Ukraine. According to TASS, on Thursday, February 2, the U.S. permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley said during his first in office speech at a meeting of the Security Council of the world organization.
“Crimea is part of Ukraine. We entered sanctions concerning the Crimea will remain in force until Russia will not return to Ukraine control over the Peninsula”, — quotes Haley news.
However, she stressed that Washington wishes to improve relations with Moscow.
On 31 January President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that the time for the abolition of anti-Russian sanctions has not come yet.
A number of countries, including the USA and member States of the European Union imposed anti-Russian sanctions in 2014, linking them with the annexation of Crimea to Russia, and then the conflict in the South-East of Ukraine. Restrictive measures affect the financial, energy and defense sectors of the Russian economy. Their abolition is linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements to stabilize the situation in the South-East of Ukraine. Agreement, in particular, called for a cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the contact line of the warring parties, and constitutional reform in Ukraine.
Crimea and Sevastopol became part of Russia after the last in March 2014 referendum, this decision is supported by the vast majority participated in the plebiscite. Kiev refuses to recognize the election results. Moscow stressed that the procedure conforms to the norms of international law. The Russian authorities have repeatedly called on the question of ownership of the Peninsula closed.