Trump Might Lift Russia Sanctions

An important member of the incoming Donald Trump administration says the United States might not keep sanctions against Russia in place under the new president.

Republican Party Chairman ReincePriebus, who was named last month by Trump to be his White House chief of staff, made the remarks in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday morning.

 Priebus said that he was “not prepared to outline our foreign policy” when asked if Trump intends to keep sanctions in place against Russia over its alleged support for anti-Kiev fighters in Ukraine and the 2014 reunification of the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland.  

“Here’s what I would tell you: If you are going to have sanctions in place, they need to be enforced. That I can tell you for sure is something he believes in, and as far as where that product goes next, you have to just wait and see,” Priebus said.

“I mean, we are just getting our cabinet put together now, and as I think president-elect outlined many times over the last six weeks, sitting down with our generals, sitting down with our leadership, formulating our policy and revealing that to the American people will be the first order of business,” he stated.

Priebus’s indication that the incoming president might lift sanctions against Russia came as Trump announced plans to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state.

Tillerson has reportedly close business relations with Russia and was awarded “Order of Friendship” — one of the country’s most prestigious awards given to foreign nationals — by the Russian government in 2013. He has often spoken out against sanctions in the past, calling them ineffective.

The sanctions were originally introduced against Moscow in March 2014 after Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined Russia.

Since then, the US and some other Western countries have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over accusations that Moscow has been involved in the crisis in Ukraine, which broke out when Kiev launched military operations to crack down on pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin, however, has strongly rejected the accusations.

The sanctions target the Russian energy, banking and military sectors. Moscow has also imposed tit-for-tat sanctions against the EU.

In September, the US Department of the Treasury expanded sanctions against Russia, targeting companies building a multi-billion dollar bridge to link Russia with Crimea, and also added dozens of people and companies to the list.

EU unable to maintain Russia sanctions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have expressed support for extension of EU sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis. The European leaders claim that Moscow has not complied with its commitments under the Minsk peace accord, while the Russians accuse Ukraine of ignoring its obligations under the truce deal. The peace agreement was aimed at bringing an end to a conflict that has claimed 10,000 lives since 2014 as low-level skirmishes continue near the lines of battle in Ukraine and Crimea region.

Mark Sleboda, international relations and security analyst from Moscow, told Press TV’s Top 5 that the EU’s sanctions regime against Russia “may expire sometime next year.”

“The hegemonic powers in Europe – Germany and France – have managed to” impose embargoes on Russia, but this is their last attempt because their leaders will probably cede power, Sleboda said on Tuesday.

“This is really Angela and Hollande’s last tango before at least Hollande and very likely Merkel as well exit the stage at different times next year,” he said.

“This (sanctions regime) really is a bankrupt policy. There are forces throughout the EU that have long resisted the extensions of the sanctions because both the sanctions and the Russians’ counter-sanctions hurt their own economy; Italy, Greece Austria, Cyprus, Hungary foremost among those,” the expert noted.

The sanctions regime against Russia “is probably going to go out the door next year with [US President-elect Donald] Trump coming into office, Hollande leaving and Merkel under threat,” he argued, saying, “These sanctions were only … linked to the Minsk Agreement, [and] they were actually enacted because of the Russian annexation of Crimea.”

Currently in force until January 31 of next year, the EU sanctions are the subject of debate among member states, with some pushing for their removal since Russia has imposed retaliatory measures targeting European farmers in particular.

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