Kremlin warns new Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky against calls for more Russia sanctions
- Statement from Putin comes after US said Washington intended to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project
- Zelensky says his priority is ending the conflict with Russia-backed insurgents
The Kremlin on Tuesday warned Ukraine’s new President Volodymyr Zelensky against asking Washington for more sanctions against Russia, suggesting it would not help his efforts to end the war in the east.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman made the comments after US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said in Kiev that Washington intended to impose sanctions on companies involved in the Moscow-led Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project.
On Monday, Zelensky was sworn in as Ukraine’s president and said his priority was ending the conflict with Russia-backed insurgents in the east, which has claimed some 13,000 lives since 2014.
In a meeting with US officials including Perry on Monday, Zelensky called on Washington to introduce more sanctions against Moscow.
“This is the rhetoric that will not help Ukraine to sort out the problem of the southeast,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, referring to the separatist conflict in the ex-Soviet country’s industrial east.
