US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that she had discussed the US sanctions regime imposed on Russia with the officials in every country she visited during her trip to Africa
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2023) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that she had discussed the US sanctions regime imposed on Russia with the officials in every country she visited during her trip to Africa.
"We have discussed sanctions really in every country that I've visited and my main message is that we take very seriously the sanctions that we've placed on Russia in response to its brutal invasion of Ukraine," Yellen said in response to a question raised during a press conference in South Africa.
Yellen pointed out that the United States would respond very quickly and harshly to any violation of the sanctions regardless whether they are breached by governments or local businesses.
The treasury secretary emphasized that she urges "compliance with those sanctions."
Yellen's Africa tour is part of the Biden administration's effort to strengthen ties with countries in Africa amid growing Russian and Chinese influence on the continent.
The treasury secretary visited Senegal and Zambia and her trip will conclude in South Africa.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on the request of he Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics to protect them from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The US-led collective West has imposed comprehensive sanctions against Russia and provided well over $100 billion in military and other aid to Ukraine.
