Funny call readout from Secretary Tillersons office today. The last paragraph is extraordinarily blunt (emphasis mine):
[Dept. of State] Secretary Tillerson phoned Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko today to discuss his recent trip to Moscow and his message to the Russian leadership that, although the United States is interested in improving relations with Russia, Russias actions in eastern Ukraine remain an obstacle. The Secretary emphasized the importance of Ukraines continued progress on reform and combating corruption.
The Secretary accepted condolences from President Poroshenko on the death today of a U.S. member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). The leaders agreed that the OSCE SMM has played a vital role in its role of monitoring the Minsk agreements designed to bring peace to eastern Ukraine, and that this tragic incident makes clear the need for all sides- and particularly the Russian-led separatist forces-to implement their commitments under the Minsk Agreements immediately.
Secretary Tillerson reiterated the United States firm commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity and confirmed that sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine and fully implements its commitments in the Minsk agreements. (link)
Oh well, I guess thats that then.
No need to ever wonder about those pesky sanctions ever being lifted.
Ever.
Horse = Dead.
Moving on