The U.S. stance regarding sanctions against Russia will not change following the election of Donald Trump to the presidency, US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
"Our stance was they have been and will certainly remain throughout this administration," agency spokesman Mark Toner said during a press briefing.
"With regard to sanctions on Crimea, those remain in place until Russia removes its forces from Crimea and gives this peninsula back to Ukraine."
The U.S. has sanctioned Russia since it annexed Crimea in 2014.
During his campaign, Trump questioned the reason for NATO, openly said he admired Russian President Vladimir Putin and allegedly accepted the annexation of Crimea. After his victory was ensured, Putin said Moscow was ready to restore relations with U.S.
EU countries do not recognize Crimea's accession to Russia, which took place in 2014 after a referendum, calling it"annexation".
Earlier, the US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute spoke for that the European Union after the United States must maintainthe sanctions regime against Russia until full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
