U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held his tough line on Russia during a visit to Europe on Thursday, saying in front of his Russian counterpart that Washington would keep sanctions in place until Russian forces withdraw from Ukraine, according to Reuters. The conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists has claimed more than 10,000 lives since it erupted in 2014. Russia denies accusations it fomented the conflict and provided arms and fighters, as reported by Reuters. Speaking at a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Tillerson went even further in spelling out Russia’s involvement in the conflict and the consequences it faced than he had the day before when he met NATO allies in Brussels. “We should be clear about the source of this violence”, Tillerson said, referring to increasing ceasefire violations recorded by the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission of observers in eastern Ukraine.
