Washington says relations with Ukraine are "on hold" due to Kyiv's prosecution of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and other leaders of the Orange Revolution.
Philip Gordon, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, made the statement at the Center for European Policy Analysis' U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum on September 20 in Washington.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 19 unanimously passed a resolution urging the State Department to impose a visa ban on Ukrainian officials "responsible for the imprisonment and mistreatment of Ms. Tymoshenko."
Gordon told RFE/RL that the U.S. administration "shares the concerns of Congress," but added, "It is not our policy at present to cut off ties with the Ukrainian government as part of an effort to get them to do the right thing on elections or prosecutions. We don't believe that that would be effective."
Philip Gordon, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, made the statement at the Center for European Policy Analysis' U.S.-Central Europe Strategy Forum on September 20 in Washington.
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 19 unanimously passed a resolution urging the State Department to impose a visa ban on Ukrainian officials "responsible for the imprisonment and mistreatment of Ms. Tymoshenko."
Gordon told RFE/RL that the U.S. administration "shares the concerns of Congress," but added, "It is not our policy at present to cut off ties with the Ukrainian government as part of an effort to get them to do the right thing on elections or prosecutions. We don't believe that that would be effective."
