The White House said Monday that U.S. sanctions on Russia will continue to remain in place as long as Moscow's "illegal occupation" of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula continues. "There have been sanctions imposed on individuals that have been designated because of the role they played in the action that Russia took in Crimea – the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "There will be potentially more and more serious consequences imposed by the United States and our partners should Russia engage in further acts that violate Ukraine's integrity and sovereignty." "Russia is illegally occupying Crimea, and we will never recognize that illegal occupation. It was done in violation of the U.N. Charter, in violation of Russia's own commitments with Ukraine, the sovereign state of Ukraine. And that remains true today and it will remain true in the future," Carney said.
