US to lift anti-Russian sanctions after Minsk agreements fulfilled

MOSCOW, Mar 3 (PRIME) -- The U.S. may lift anti-Russian sanctions any time once Moscow fulfills the Minsk agreements, U.S. embassy spokesperson William Stevens said on Thursday.

The U.S. is cooperating with Russia in fields of mutual interest, and extension of the sanctions against Moscow was made “automatically” because Russia has not fulfilled the requirements yet, he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed an extension for one year of a decree imposing sanctions on Crimean and Russian officials and companies over the events in the peninsula and the east of Ukraine late on Wednesday.

The act on “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the U.S.” refers to the sanctions imposed on Russia on March 6, March 16, March 20 and December 19, 2014.

The Russian activities in Ukraine continue to pose a threat to the U.S. national security and foreign policies, as follows from the text of the document.

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