U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law loan guarantees for Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions against Russia, the White House said in a statement.
“On Thursday, April 3, 2014, the President signed into law: H.R.
4152, the “Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and
Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014,” which provides for loan
guarantees for Ukraine and directs the imposition of sanctions on
certain individuals with regard to Ukraine; and S. 2183, which
authorizes funds to enhance U.S. news and information programming to the
people of Ukraine and the neighboring regions,” reads the statement.
Earlier this week, U.S. Congress passed a bill to provide loan
guarantees for Ukraine to the tune of $1 billion and introduce sanctions
against Russia, and sent the document to the U.S. president for his
signature.
Congressmen also called on Obama to take further measures, including a boost in natural gas exports to Europe.
Prior to that, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Europe to
reduce its dependence on Russian gas. “No nation should use energy to
stymie a people’s aspirations. It should not be used as a weapon. It is
in the interest of all of us to be able have adequate energy supplies
critical to our economies, critical to our security, critical to the
prosperity of our people,” Kerry, who was quoted by Voice of America,
said in Brussels.
