Michele Siders, the Acting Deputy Chief of U.S. Mission in the OSCE, said that Crimea related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the annexed peninsula to Ukraine. She said this during her speech at Permanent Council in Vienna,reports “Krym Realii”.
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"The United States fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally-recognized borders. We seek the safety and security of all Ukrainians, regardless of language, religion or ethnicity. We do not, nor will we ever, recognize Russia’s occupation and purported annexation of Crimea. Crimea-related sanctions on Russia will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine. And we join our European and other partners in restating that our sanctions against Russia for its aggression in eastern Ukraine will remain until Russia fully implements its commitments under the Minsk agreements", – Siders said.
"Krym Realii" reports that in her speech, Siders listed some facts of the persecution of Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian activists on the peninsula and stated that the US calls on Russia to release all political prisoners, including Sentsov, Kolchenko and the figurant of the Yalta "Hizb ut-Tahrir case" (an organization banned in Russia and annexed Crimea), human rights defender Emir-Usein Kuku.