Biden Administration Again Rejects Ukraine’s Call for Sanctions on RussiaJohn Hayward 24 Jan 2022
The Biden administration on Sunday once again rejected pleas from the Ukrainian government to impose sanctions on Russia before an invasion begins.
The latest rejection was delivered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on CNN’s Sunday show State of the Union.
“When it comes to sanctions, the purpose of those sanctions is to deter Russian aggression, so if they’re triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect,” Blinken argued.
“All of the things that we’re doing, including building up in a united way with Europe, massive consequences for Russia, is designed to factor into President Putin’s calculus and to deter and dissuade them from taking aggressive action, even as we pursue diplomacy at the same time,” he said.
CNN host Dana Bash asked Blinken if Russia “seizing or recognizing” the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine – fulfilling a major goal of Russia-backed separatist fighters by either absorbing the area into Russia or breaking it off from Ukraine as an independent state – would “qualify as an invasion” and trigger “the crippling sanctions you’re threatening.”
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/01/24/biden-administration-again-rejects-ukraines-call-for-sanctions-on-russia/
