US will not ease anti-Russian sanctions over Crimea

Washington will not change its position on Crimea, said US Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan.
"We will not weaken the sanctions, in any case, neither the United States nor our allies and partners intend to weaken the sanctions imposed as a result of these events. And there is no getting away from this, - we started the conversation with this, - we will continue," - said the diplomat.
At the same time, as Sullivan noted, the US approach to the Minsk agreements and the "Normandy format" of negotiations remains the same. According to him, the White House is looking for a solution to the problem "which would be fair for Ukraine and for the people throughout the country." The diplomat is sure that this position is shared by the US allies in Europe - French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“We have not achieved much success in the past six to seven years, but that does not absolve us of the commitment to continue working towards achieving it,” he said.

Relations between Russia and Western countries worsened due to the situation in Ukraine and around Crimea, which was reunited with Russia at the behest of the inhabitants of the peninsula. Moscow was accused of intervening in the Ukrainian crisis, the EU and the United States imposed sanctions, Russia responded symmetrically.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that Moscow is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine and a subject of the Minsk settlement agreements.