Washington's renewal of sanctions against Russia in connection with Crimea is another foreign policy misstep, given that the measure has proven to be ineffective, Mikhail Sheremet, Crimea's representative in Russia's lower house of parliament, told Sputnik on Wednesday
SIMFEROPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Washington's renewal of sanctions against Russia in connection with Crimea is another foreign policy misstep, given that the measure has proven to be ineffective, Mikhail Sheremet, Crimea's representative in Russia's lower house of parliament, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a one-year extension for the 2014 Russia sanctions, claiming that the country's actions and policies "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
"Extending sanctions is counterproductive and senseless. All this is another foreign policy mistake of the US authorities. Sanctions will not add trust to the relationship between the countries and have exhausted themselves and outlived their purpose," Sheremet said.
The lawmaker added that he felt Trump was making the same mistakes as his predecessor.
Crimea was at the center of Russia's fallout with the West in 2014, when Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to rejoin Russia in a referendum, a result that Ukraine and the West refuse to recognize. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Crimea decided to rejoin Russia through a democratic procedure, as the referendum was conducted in compliance with international law. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of the peninsula's territorial belonging is "historically closed."
