KYIV. Aug 24 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he is confident that the unified stance of "the civilized world, led by the United States" would be able to change Russia's policy.
"Soccer championships will not stop Moscow's aggression [...] nor gifts of gas flows, but the unified, powerful stance of the civilized world with the global leadership of our partners from the U.S. will stop it," Poroshenko said opening a meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton in Kyiv on Friday.
He thanked Bolton for the sanctions the U.S. has imposed on Russia and the Crimea declaration.
Sanctions are effective and force Moscow to pay a great price for "the violations of international law which it has been committing for the past four-and-a-half years," Poroshenko said.
Anti-Russian sanctions are not a punishment, but "an incentive for Russia to return to civilized society, withdraw its troops from Crimea and Donbas," and "honor and respect international law," Poroshenko said.
Bolton's visit to Ukraine on its Independence Day is a sign of the U.S.' support for Ukraine's policy, he said.