Obama: Sanctions against Russia led to a truce, from which NATO will protect Ukraine
Moscow - Kyiv, September 6 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - US President Barack Obama said that the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine became possible due to Western sanctions against Russia. At the same time, he assured that NATO will defend Ukrainian sovereignty from “Russian aggression.”
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Kyiv news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
“The only reason we agreed to a ceasefire is because of the sanctions that we have already imposed and the threat of new sanctions that will have a real impact on the Russian economy,” the US president said at a press conference after the end of the NATO summit in Newport.
Obama also said that the ceasefire message gives him hope and skepticism at the same time. “As for the ceasefire agreement, it gives us hope, however, based on past experience, we are skeptical that the separatists will implement it and Russia will stop violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And yet, we need to make sure of this,” Obama also said.
Speaking about sanctions, the American president said that the United States and European countries agreed on measures to deepen and expand sanctions against Russia in the financial, energy and defense sectors of the economy. At the same time, he assured that NATO will defend Ukrainian sovereignty from “Russian aggression.”
Obama: Sanctions against Russia led to the ceasefire, and NATO will protect Ukraine from them.