US Senator Expresses Desire for Greater Sanctions Against Russia

US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy claims that the United States should be imposing greater sanctions on Russia like those implemented by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States should be imposing greater sanctions on Russia like those implemented by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday, US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy told Sputnik.

“I am speaking generally about my desire to have greater sanctions,” Murphy said on Wednesday when asked his thoughts on the latest US economic actions targeting Russia.

The US Treasury imposed the sanctions in response to allegations that Russia supported recent assaults in Debaltseve and Mariupol, constituting a violation of the four-party Minsk ceasefire agreement.

“I’m concerned that the ceasefire isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” Murphy said. The United States must therefore “take some new steps to convince the Russians to act differently,” he added.

The latest round of US sanctions targeting 14 individuals and two entities comes on the heels of new sanctions from the European Union targeting individuals in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.

Russian officials deny allegations of violating the Minsk agreements. Moscow is currently working with the representatives of Germany, France and Ukraine to increase the number of Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe monitors to ensure full implementation of the Minsk agreements.