Ukraine, an international crisis

Against the background of a very tense situation in Ukraine, as of Monday, the United States has placed new sanctions on seven Russian high officials and 17 Russian companies. According to US Secretary of State John Kerry, the sanctions will have both economic and political effects. John Kerry has warned that the US might further impose more sanctions on Russian key economic sectors unless the Kremlin changes its policy towards Ukraine.

Valentin Țigău, 29.04.2014, 15:17

Against the background of a very tense situation in Ukraine, as of Monday, the United States has placed new sanctions on seven Russian high officials and 17 Russian companies. According to US Secretary of State John Kerry, the sanctions will have both economic and political effects. John Kerry has warned that the US might further impose more sanctions on Russian key economic sectors unless the Kremlin changes its policy towards Ukraine.

However, Russian Defense Minister, Serghey Soigu has given assurances that Russian military troops will not invade Ukraine’s territory. News agencies report that the troops that took part in military maneuvers near the border with Ukraine have returned to their bases. According to Serghei Soigu, Russia has been forced to carry out extensive maneuvers at the border, to counteract prospective Ukrainian military operations against civilians in southeastern Ukraine.

In a phone talk with his Russian counterpart, US Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel has underscored that the situation in Ukraine continues to be dangerous and has urged again Russia to put an end to its destabilizing influence on Ukrainian territory. He has also warned that a further aggression of Ukraine will isolate the Russian Federation even more and has again called on Moscow to help find a responsible solution to the crisis.

Moreover, Hagel has called on Russia to assist in the efforts to release the 7 OSCE observers, detained by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. On the same note, ambassadors of the 28 EU member countries have added 15 more Russian officials on the list of sanctions against Moscow. The sanctions include, among other things, an asset freeze and a visa ban. Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dimitry Kozak, the mastermind of the failed plan to federalize the Republic of Moldova, is also on that list. Romania’s president, Traian Basescu, has called on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to firmly condemn the actions of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetk, believed to have seized the OSCE observes.

The Romanian Presidency says in a communiqué that Romania condemns any kind of separatism and the use of military-type pressure to reach political goals. Given the crisis in Ukraine, Romania has announced an increase in the Defense Ministry’s budget by 0.2% of the GDP. Prime Minister Victor Ponta has made it clear that the additional amounts will be used to upgrade the Romanian army’s military capabilities.