US Congress may impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials, says Pifer

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer has said in an interview with radio station Voice of America that the U.S. Congress is considering the possibility of imposing sanctions on Ukrainian officials.

Asked whether the United States' policy on Ukraine could become tougher following the appointment of John Kerry as U.S. Secretary of State, Pifer said: "We'll see. I think today you have to closely follow Congress. The very critical resolution on Ukraine that was issued by the Congress in September was passed unanimously. This means that not one of the U.S. lawmakers opposed its adoption."

Pifer added that this means that the U.S. Congress is deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine.

"Congress is considering the introduction of sanctions against Ukrainian officials, while the issue was not on the agenda a year or two years ago," the former ambassador said.

He also expressed hope that Kyiv "understands and takes this as a sign of deep concern."

As reported, the U.S. authorities received a petition to introduce sanctions against Ukrainian officials involved in the falsification of the criminal case against businessman Dmytro Pavlychenko and his son Serhiy Pavlychenko, who were convicted of killing a judge of a district court in Kyiv.

A relevant petition was registered on the Web site of the White House on January 26, 2013. The petition has to collect at least 100,000 signatures by February 25, 2013 to be considered by the White House.

The petition proposes to put a ban on entry to the United States for former Interior Minister of Ukraine Anatoliy Mohyliov, Head of the Public Security Department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine Oleksiy Krykun, Head of the Investigatory Department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine Vasyl Farynnyk, investigators and other people involved in the falsification of the criminal case, torture, and the violation of human rights and freedoms.