S. and the rest of the world the need for democracy in Ukraine. .
The Obama Administration has voiced its support for the new government in Ukraine and its quest to build a democratic system. Obama stated on March 12th that the U.S. government completely rejects the Crimea referendum, and its foreign policy regarding Ukraine is to help build a united democracy. The security council of the U.N. is useless however in its attempt to illegalize the Crimea referendum, as Russia holds a permanent seat on the council and used its veto power to reject any action against its absorption of Crimea. This is where the U.S. foreign policy on aiding Ukraine begins to develop. The policy the Obama Administration wants to take is one of helping the interim Ukraine government against the overpowering imposition of Russian troops until a formal election takes place on May 25th. With a Ukrainian government that is both out numbered and out-funded against Russia, a large question the Administration faced was whether or not to aid Ukraine by sending weapons. The goal of the U.S. and other world leaders has been to avoid military conflict, leading to split views in whether or not to weaponize Ukraine. (Of course military conflict was already upon them.).
Before President Obama and the Executive branch can execute policy towards helping Ukraine, the policy must be reviewed by Congress and find endorsement from the Senate and House of Representatives. In March of this year, a bill to assist Ukraine received overwhelming approval by the House. The legislation, which was approved by the House in a surprisingly bipartisan 378-34 vote, imposes mandatory sanctions on Crimea as well as on Ukrainian officials in allegiance with Vladimir Putin. These sanctions consist of asset freezes and visa bans that could affectively stifle the Crimea economy. The sanctions also targeted officials who had partook in human rights abuses in Ukraine.