US Vice President Kamala Harris said Americans share intelligence on the Ukraine-Russia crisis with their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies for decisions on financial sanctions against the country.
According to Harris, who was in Munich, Germany, this Sunday (20) for a security conference, the announcements of sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s country if there is a military onslaught against the neighboring nation were taken together. Such announcements would have the main objective of deterring an actual attack – a decision that, the US maintains, would have already been taken by Russia.
“We believe that Putin has made his decision. Full stop. But I also say that as part of our partnership in the context of the alliance, we share information, of course, because we want to make sure that we are all working with the same information for critical decisions, such as sanctions,” he stated. “Nothing is being held back,” he said.
“Each nation has its individual priorities and concerns about its economy, security. This is about dissuading Russia from invading a sovereign nation. We all know what a war looks like in Europe and what it would mean for each of those countries.”
“The purpose of sanctions has always been and still is for deterrence. But we also need to recognize the unique nature of what we have announced: they are one of the strongest, if not the biggest, sanctions ever announced. They are aimed at financial institutions and individuals, and will cause serious damage to the Russian economy and government,” he said.
Kamala Harris also highlighted the “real possibility of war in Europe” by commenting that countries still “believe and desire” a diplomatic solution to the case. However, she also stated that she “admires” Ukraine’s desire to join NATO – one of the hotspots of tension, as Russia does not want the border country to join the Western military alliance.
“Sanctions are not just US products, but shared with our allies. We agree that deterrence sanctions are still significant, all the more so because we still truly believe there is a diplomatic path at this point,” Harris said.
“No country can tell another whether to join NATO or not. I respect the desire to [Volodymyr] Zelensky. NATO is about nations coming together as a group, making decisions collectively, with principles, and it doesn’t happen overnight.”
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
