Ukrainian president wants sanctions on Russia strengthened

Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko, has called on the international community to strengthen its sanctions against Russia over the absence of compromise on Russia’s part. He was speaking at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Yalta European Strategy.

“It might be time to respond to Russsia’s impudence on the occupied areas, including towards Crimean Tatars. This demands the introduction of new sectoral sanctions. Without the sanctions, we have nothing to talk about - we are not waiting for NATO soldiers, we are even defending ourselves with our own weapons. Sanctions are the only mechanism to keep Putin at the negotiating table and we count on that!” he said.

Poroshenko insists that it is time to impose not only sanctions against individuals but also more powerful economic tools.

“An updated version of the Jackson-Vanik amendment would not be amiss. I was the person who once asked the US Congress to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Ukraine. Now is high time to introduce it against Russia. In fact, the suffering of Ukrainian people has long stopped being a responsibility of certain individuals,” he said.

The Ukrainian president added that he expects the UN General Assembly to provide support for the Ukrainian territories to be de-occupied as soon as possible.

“The issue of bringing the perpetrators of those breaking international law to justice is still pending. We have to preserve our unity as well as activate all the possible international mechanisms to de-occupy the Crimea. The UN General Assembly, which will start in New York in three days, will also have its say on this issue. We in Ukraine count on international support for a new Ukrainian initiative and by the UN General Assembly for a resolution on human rights violations in Crimea,” he said.