The United States will not lift sanctions on Russia until President Vladimir Putin hands Crimea back to Ukraine, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said late Sunday.
He also said that Moscow must honor the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine that was outlined in the Minsk agreements, according to a State Department official.
Subscribe to Newsweek from $3.25 per week. U.S. President Donald Trump’s position on whether he will lift the sanctions on Russia has been unclear since his election last year.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on a wide swath of Russian businesses and wealthy individuals following Russia’s annexation of the Crimean region by force in 2014.
During the 2016 election campaign Trump said that as president he would be looking at lifting the sanctions and consider whether to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.
But in February White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump was expecting Putin to hand Crimea back.
After visiting Russia on April 12 and meeting Putin and Lavrov, Tillerson said relations between the two countries are at a “low point.”. »