11:15 02.07.2014

Kerry tells Poroshenko West will continue to put pressure on Russia - Department of State

2 min read
Kerry tells Poroshenko West will continue to put pressure on Russia - Department of State

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has assured Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that Washington and its allies will continue to put pressure on Russia in the Ukrainian question.

"[Kerry] also talked to him [Poroshenko] a little bit about how we [the United States] and our European partners are willing to do more to press Russia to end support to the separatists [in southeastern Ukraine]; and said we are continually preparing more costs for Russia if it does not take further steps," State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said at a briefing on Tuesday, speaking about a phone conversation between Kerry and Poroshenko.

She said that Kerry had "expressed U.S. support for the people of Ukraine and for the Ukrainian government's effort to maintain public order, and welcomed his [Poroshenko's] continued commitment to pursue his peace plan."

Harf said that the West had not yet introduced additional sanctions against Russia, adding that "we wanted to see how the ceasefire played out."

The diplomat also added: "We still have the ability to do them [the sanctions] – put them in place very quickly. We are talking to the Europeans about them every day. I don't have anything to announce, but we are looking very closely at what we might do next."

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