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U.S. Expanding Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine U.S. to Expand Sanctions Against Russia Over Ukraine
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday announced he would expand sanctions against Russia, targeting individuals who support the government and a bank with ties to them, and delivering on his warning earlier this week that the United States would ratchet up costs on Russia if it moved to annex the breakaway province of Crimea. WASHINGTON — President Obama on Thursday announced that he would expand sanctions against Russia, blacklisting wealthy individuals with ties to the government and a bank used by them, and opening the door to broader measures against Russian energy exports.
“The United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia,” Mr. Obama said in a statement on the South Lawn of the White House before leaving on a trip to Florida. The measures deliver on Mr. Obama’s warning this week that the United States would ratchet up the costs for Russia if President Vladimir V. Putin moved to annex the breakaway province of Crimea. But they were aimed at forestalling further Russian incursions into eastern Ukraine, after what Mr. Obama described as troubling Russian military movements.
“These are all choices that the Russian government has made, choices that have been rejected by the international community,” he said. In a tit-for-tat response, Russia banned nine American officials from entering the country, including Speaker John A. Boehner, the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, Senator John McCain of Arizona, as well as three senior White House officials.
Mr. Obama also said he had signed a new executive order that would allow him to impose sanctions on Russian industrial sectors, presumably including its energy exports – a step that would greatly tighten the economic pressure on Russia. Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner, said, “The speaker is proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin’s aggression.”
The administration on Monday announced sanctions against seven Russian officials, including several close advisers to President Vladimir V. Putin, as well as against separatists figures in Crimea. The executive order signed by President Obama laid the legal groundwork to punish Russian companies involved in the arms trade, as well as other officials who work with the Russian government. The administration is now moving on those fronts as well. Mr. Obama made a statement on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday before leaving on a trip to Florida. “The United States is today moving, as we said we would, to impose additional costs on Russia,” he said.
“These are all choices that the Russian government has made, choices that have been rejected by the international community.”
Mr. Obama also said he had signed a new executive order that would allow him to impose sanctions on Russian industrial sectors, presumably including its energy exports — a step that would greatly tighten the economic pressure on Russia.
On Monday, the administration announced sanctions against seven Russian officials, including several close advisers to Mr. Putin, as well as against separatists figures in Crimea. The executive order signed by Mr. Obama laid the legal groundwork to punish Russian companies involved in the arms trade, as well as other officials who work with the Russian government. The administration is now moving on those fronts as well.
The new sanctions, which are coordinated with an expected imposition of new sanctions by the European Union, deepens the confrontation between the West and Russia. But it remains unclear whether any of this will put a brake on Russia, which has moved swiftly since the referendum in Crimea last Sunday to annex the province.The new sanctions, which are coordinated with an expected imposition of new sanctions by the European Union, deepens the confrontation between the West and Russia. But it remains unclear whether any of this will put a brake on Russia, which has moved swiftly since the referendum in Crimea last Sunday to annex the province.