Russia, US in sanctions battle over Crimea
Print Edition
RUSSIA said yesterday it was introducing its own sanctions against United States officials, minutes after President Barack Obama announced a new round of punitive measures against Moscow’s annexation of Crimea while Europe’s leaders also readied to hit back at Russia with fresh sanctions.
“There should be no doubt: each hostile attack will be met in an adequate manner,” the Russian foreign ministry said, adding that nine Obama aides and senators would not be able to enter Russia.
Moscow’s blacklist includes Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner and Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as senators John McCain, Mary Landrieu and Daniel Coats.
Also on the list are Obama aides Caroline Atkinson, Daniel Pfeiffer and Benjamin Rhodes.
Earlier, the lower house of Russia’s parliament ratified the treaty on absorption of Ukraine’s rebel peninsula.
Obama, who threatened to target the broader Russian economy if Moscow escalates its actions against Ukraine, said yesterday: “Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community.”
The latest US measures in the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War target a new list of 20 lawmakers and senior government officials in addition to 11 people already sanctioned.
The move freezes assets within American jurisdiction and bars US firms from conducting business with those concerned. It is also designed to frustrate attempts by those designated to conduct international business in dollars.
The US Treasury Department identified the financial institution involved as Aktsionerny Bank of the Russian Federation, also known as Bank Rossiya.
Senior officials said the bank held significant assets of the Russian ruling elite and key figures around Putin.
“Bank Rossiya’s shareholders include members of Putin’s inner circle associated with the Ozero Dacha Cooperative, a housing community in which they live,” the Treasury said.
In Brussels, where the 28-nation European Union was gathering for its second summit on Ukraine in less than two weeks, French President Francois Hollande said: “Borders cannot be redrawn and a region allowed to pass from one nation to another without a response.”
Hollande said the bloc’s leaders would announce fresh sanctions at the two-day meeting “against a certain number of figures” and would cancel an EU-Russia summit planned for June.
But EU nations for now remain divided on ramping up their response with biting economic sanctions, hoping that diplomacy and dialogue can provide a way out.
“We will make clear that we are ready in case of further escalation to introduce economic sanctions,” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is Russia’s leading EU trading partner.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
