US Elections, Syria, Ukraine Amid Factors Affecting Anti-Russia Sanctions

The US presidential elections as well as the developments in Syria and Ukraine are the factors which are likely to influence the regime of sanctions imposed on Moscow, according to the President of American-Russian Chamber of Commerce.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The decision to lift the anti-Russian sanctions in six months will depend on the results of the upcoming presidential elections in the United States as well as situations in Ukraine and Syria, President of American-Russian Chamber of Commerce Sergei Millian told Sputnik.

"The sanctions will not be lifted within the next six months, however, in six months, if there are changes in the direction of Russia's adherence to the Minsk agreements, changes to the situation in Ukraine and Syria, we may see some changes to their policy proposed by the United States and the Western Europe," Millian said on the sidelines of the ongoing Russian oil and gas industry week in Moscow.

He added that factors such as the US presidential elections in November could also influence the sanctions regime.

Relations between Russia and the United States went downhill in 2014, when Washington accused Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions as a punitive measure.

The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive. In response to the Western restrictive measures, in August 2014, Russia announced a food embargo on some products originating in states that imposed sanctions against it.