Response to We the People Petition on Sanctions and Ukraine Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Ukraine with us through We the People. The people of Ukraine have the right to define their own future -- peacefully and in an atmosphere of stability. The United States stands with them, as we have for 22 years. The President has signed an Executive Order that allows the Secretary of the Treasury to impose sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for activities undermining democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine; threatening the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; misappropriating state assets of Ukraine; or asserting governmental authority over any part of Ukraine without authorization from the Ukrainian government in Kyiv. In addition, pursuant to the President's guidance, the State Department is imposing visa restrictions on a number of officials and individuals, to deny visas to those responsible for or complicit in threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. This new step stands in addition to the policy already implemented to deny visas to those involved in human rights abuses related to political oppression in Ukraine. We welcome your interest on Ukrainian issues: there is a lot of talk about Ukraine these days, and not all of what we're seeing reported is accurate. To continue this conversation on the United States' engagement with Ukraine, please visit the website of the Embassy of the United States in Kyiv, follow them on Facebook, or check out the Twitter feed of Geoffrey Pyatt, the United States Ambassador to Ukraine. Tell us what you think about this response and We the People. Stay Connected Stay connected to the White House by signing up for periodic email updates from President Obama and other senior administration officials. |