SOCIETY 367 / 2015

USA
INTERVIEW
Ambassador Alexa Wesner
says, US-Austrian relations
have never been stronger
➢
tive Democratic and Republican presidential
candidates are going to be. But I am sure, whoever
they are, that it will be an interesting campaign
and election, a thrilling experience and an example
of US democracy in action.
What does the US want to achieve with the
sanctions against Russia?
As you know, the United States has worked for
25 years for a Europe whole, free, and at peace.
Throughout this Russian-initiated conflict, the
United States and the EU have worked in lockstep
to impose successive rounds of tough sanctions
because Russia continues to militarily support
efforts in eastern Ukraine to undermine the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Our goal is to promote a diplomatic solution that
provides a lasting resolution to the conflict and
helps to promote growth and stability in Ukraine
and regionally, including in Russia. In this context,
we continue to call on Russia’s leadership to
implement the Minsk agreements and to reach
a lasting and comprehensive resolution to the
conflict which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity. We remain prepared to
roll back sanctions should Russia take the necessary
steps and to strengthen them further should
Russia continue its aggressive actions against
Ukraine.
How will the USA deal with the problematic
situation in Syria and Iraq in order to establish
peace and security?
The United States’ prime interest is to work
with our partners in Europe and around the
world to defeat ISIL and to seek a lasting solution
to the conflicts in both Syria and Iraq. We welcome
commitments from the EU and its member
states to our sustained and comprehensive
approach to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL.
We will accomplish this by working within the
international coalition against ISIL and through
a variety of means, including military support to
our partners on the ground in Iraq, efforts to stop
terrorist financing, countering flows of foreign
fighters into the region, and delegitimizing ISIL’s
extremist ideology.
In addition, we are looking at ways in which
Iraq can not only maximize the efficiency of its
oil resources but diversify its economy so that it
presents more opportunities, jobs and prosperity
for the Iraqi people. Thus, the US and Iraq recently
reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen
and fully activate their strategic partnership,
and both sides agreed on the need to work closely
together to garner immediate international support
to stabilize areas liberated from ISIL terrorists.
We’ve also discussed steps Iraq can take to increase
energy exports and to establish additional
Fotos: SOCIETY/Pobaschnig
36 | SOCIETY 1_2015