State Dept defends Russia sanctions after Moscow cancels meeting

The State Department on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s decision to expand U.S. sanctions against Russia, after the country’s deputy foreign minister abruptly called off a meeting with a top U.S. diplomat.

The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it had added 38 individuals and firms, including two Russian government officials, to its list of those sanctioned for Russia’s role in Ukraine.

That prompted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov to cancel a meeting with Thomas A. Shannon Jr., the under secretary of State for political affairs, which was set to take place in St. Petersburg on Friday.

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State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the agency was disappointed by Ryabkov’s decision to call off the meeting, calling the move to expand the sanctions list routine and noting that the U.S. does so twice a year.

“The maintenance package of sanctions issued yesterday by the Treasury Department, which only reinforced existing sanctions, was designed to counter attempts to circumvent our sanctions and to maintain alignment of U.S. measures with those of our international partners,” she said in a statement.

What’s more, Nauert said, those sanctions “didn’t just come out of nowhere,” adding that the U.S. has been clear with Russia that the penalties would be removed, pending an end to the Kremlin’s interference in Ukraine and its return of Crimea to Kiev’s control.

“Let’s remember that these sanctions didn’t just come out of nowhere,” she said. “Our targeted sanctions were imposed in response to Russia’s ongoing violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor, Ukraine.”

“If the Russians seek an end to these sanctions, they know very well the U.S. position: Our sanctions on Russia related [to] Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine will remain in place until Russia fully honors its obligations under the Minsk Agreements.”

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the Kremlin was weighing a response to the U.S. sanctions, according to the Associated Press.