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U.S. Announces More Sanctions Against Russia U.S. Announces More Sanctions Against Russia
(35 minutes later)
MANILA — The United States on Monday imposed additional sanctions against Russian government officials and companies deemed close to President Vladimir V. Putin, accusing Moscow of failing to live up to its agreement to defuse the crisis in Ukraine. WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday imposed additional sanctions against Russian government officials and companies deemed close to President Vladimir V. Putin, accusing Moscow of failing to live up to its agreement to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.
The Obama administration ordered travel bans and asset freezes for seven Russian officials, including two said to be in Mr. Putin’s inner circle, and froze assets for 17 companies. Thirteen Russian companies will also face additional restrictions as the government will cut off the export or re-export of American-made products to them.The Obama administration ordered travel bans and asset freezes for seven Russian officials, including two said to be in Mr. Putin’s inner circle, and froze assets for 17 companies. Thirteen Russian companies will also face additional restrictions as the government will cut off the export or re-export of American-made products to them.
Additionally, the State and Commerce Departments announced a new policy to deny export license applications for high-technology items that could contribute to Russia’s military capabilities. The two departments will revoke existing export licenses along those lines, the White House said in a statement. Additionally, the State and Commerce Departments announced a new policy to deny export license applications for high-technology items that could contribute to Russia’s military capabilities. The two departments will revoke existing export licenses along those lines, the White House said in a statement. The European Union plans to follow with sanctions on 15 Russians, officials said.
Among those targeted on Monday was Igor I. Sechin, president of the state-owned Rosneft oil company and a longtime Putin adviser. Although administration officials said over the weekend that they also expected Aleksei B. Miller, the head of the energy giant Gazprom, to possibly be targeted, Mr. Obama ultimately chose a list that did not include him.Among those targeted on Monday was Igor I. Sechin, president of the state-owned Rosneft oil company and a longtime Putin adviser. Although administration officials said over the weekend that they also expected Aleksei B. Miller, the head of the energy giant Gazprom, to possibly be targeted, Mr. Obama ultimately chose a list that did not include him.
Others who face sanctions include Dmitry N. Kozak, a deputy prime minister; Vyacheslav V. Volodin, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Putin; and Aleksei Pushkov, the chairman of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament. The companies targeted included several banks, including Sobinbank, and energy companies like the Stroytransgaz Group and various related entities.Others who face sanctions include Dmitry N. Kozak, a deputy prime minister; Vyacheslav V. Volodin, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Putin; and Aleksei Pushkov, the chairman of the international affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament. The companies targeted included several banks, including Sobinbank, and energy companies like the Stroytransgaz Group and various related entities.
In imposing sanctions on Mr. Sechin, the administration has targeted a top partner of ExxonMobil, which has multiple joint ventures with Rosneft. It is not known if Mr. Sechin has any assets in the United States to freeze, but he will no longer be permitted into the country to consult with his ExxonMobil partners. ExxonMobil lawyers have been studying the possible ramifications in anticipation of the administration move. In imposing sanctions on Mr. Sechin, the administration has targeted a top partner of ExxonMobil, which has multiple joint ventures with Rosneft. It is not known if Mr. Sechin has any assets in the United States to freeze, but he will no longer be permitted into the country to consult with his ExxonMobil partners. ExxonMobil lawyers have been studying the possible ramifications in anticipation of the administration move, but a company spokesman said Monday that it had no comment.
The firms targeted on Monday were all tied to Russian businessmen who were targeted in previous rounds of sanctions. Eleven of the companies were linked to Gennady N. Timchenko, including the Volga Group, his private investment holding company. Mr. Timchenko is a co-founder of the Gunvor Group, a commodities trading firm in which the Treasury Department has previously said Mr. Putin has personal investments. Gunvor has adamantly denied that Mr. Putin has any financial ties to the company, and Mr. Timchenko has sold his shares in Gunvor.
Three other firms targeted on Monday were tied to Arkady and Boris Rotenberg: InvestCapitalBank, SMP Bank and Stroygazmontazh. Three others were subsidiaries of Yuri V. Kovalchuk’s Bank Rossyia: Abros, Zest and Sobinbank.
“Today’s targeted sanctions, taken in close coordination with the E.U., will increase the impact we have already begun to see on Russia’s own economy as a result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and from U.S. and international sanctions,” Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement. “Russian economic growth forecasts have dropped sharply, capital flight has accelerated and higher borrowing costs reflect declining confidence in the market outlook.”
American officials said that the European sanctions list would diverge from theirs, but that the fact that both sides were moving on the same day signaled important unity.
“We don’t expect there to be an immediate change in Russian policy,” said a senior administration official, briefing reporters under ground rules that did not permit him to be identified. But he said the latest actions would signal that “much more severe economic pain” could still be imposed if Moscow did not back down.
Other individuals subject to the travel ban and asset freeze were Oleg Belavantsev, who was appointed by Mr. Putin last month as presidential envoy overseeing the annexed Crimean Peninsula; Sergei V. Chemezov, the director general of Rostec, the Russian state firm overseeing high-technology industries and a longtime member of Mr. Putin’s circle; and Evgeny Murov, the director of Russia’s Federal Protective Service and an army general.
The actions came shortly after President Obama, traveling here in Asia, declared that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine and would pay a price. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of his weeklong Asia trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine.The actions came shortly after President Obama, traveling here in Asia, declared that Russia was continuing to bully and threaten Ukraine and would pay a price. The fact that the announcement was made on the last stop of his weeklong Asia trip underscored the sense of urgency about fears that Russia was destabilizing eastern Ukraine.
The European Union is expected to announce similar measures within a day or so, as Mr. Obama and European leaders strive to keep a united front in their campaign of pressure on Moscow.
“These sanctions represent the next stage in a calibrated effort to change Russia’s behavior,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference with President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines.“These sanctions represent the next stage in a calibrated effort to change Russia’s behavior,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference with President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines.
But Mr. Obama acknowledged, “We don’t yet know whether it is going to work,” and he left the door open to more sweeping sanctions against Russian industries like banking and defense.But Mr. Obama acknowledged, “We don’t yet know whether it is going to work,” and he left the door open to more sweeping sanctions against Russian industries like banking and defense.
“The goal is not to go after Mr. Putin personally; the goal is to change his calculus, to encourage him to walk the walk, not just talk the talk” when it comes to diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, Mr. Obama said.“The goal is not to go after Mr. Putin personally; the goal is to change his calculus, to encourage him to walk the walk, not just talk the talk” when it comes to diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis, Mr. Obama said.
Mr. Obama said the sanctions would affect high-tech military exports to Russia, because they are not “appropriate to be transferred in the current environment.”Mr. Obama said the sanctions would affect high-tech military exports to Russia, because they are not “appropriate to be transferred in the current environment.”
Mr. Obama and Mr. Aquino also promoted a new 10-year agreement between the United States and the Philippines that would give American warships and planes extended access to bases here.
“This is going to be a terrific opportunity for us to work with the Philippines, to make sure our navies, our air forces are coordinating,” Mr. Obama said.
The Philippines has been embroiled in a dispute with China over scattered islands in the South China Sea, and the return of a visible American military presence here will send a signal to the Chinese that the United States will resist Chinese expansionism.
Still, Mr. Obama said that the agreement was not meant to counter or contain China, and he added, “it’s inevitable that China is going to be a dominant power in this region, just by sheer size.”
On Monday, however, Mr. Obama’s focus was as much on Russia as on China. He reiterated that the Group of 7 countries were united in their approach toward Mr. Putin. But there has been a debate within the administration about whether the United States should impose more sweeping sanctions even if Europe is reluctant to follow suit for fear of damaging its economic concerns with Russia.
The issue came to a head in recent days as American and European leaders tried to coordinate this new round of sanctions after the collapse of a Geneva agreement to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine.
Secretary of State John Kerry delivered a blistering attack on Moscow on Thursday night for not living up to the agreement, but the plan to follow that up with sanctions on Friday fell apart while Washington waited for Brussels, postponing action until Monday at the earliest.
The deliberations in the West came as pro-Russian forces in Ukraine on Sunday continued to defy international demands to stand down. An antigovernment militia paraded eight detained members of a European military observer mission before cameras, while protesters seized a regional government television station and declared that they would use it to air Russian newscasts.
The display of the captive European observers underscored the challenge for Washington and Brussels in defusing the conflict. The observers, who were seized at a checkpoint on Friday, were led by masked gunmen into an auditorium in the eastern city of Slovyansk. The self-appointed mayor refused to discuss conditions under which they might be released, beyond mentioning a prisoner exchange, although one of the observers was later freed for health reasons.
Also on Sunday, a crowd of pro-Russia militants proclaimed the “Lugansk People’s Republic” in Lugansk, which lies east of Donetsk near the Russian border. A video posted on the website of the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty showed two unidentified women declaring the republic and announcing that a referendum would be held on May 11 that would allow the region to join neighboring Russia. A crowd of about 200 people cheered.
Yelena Bugayets, the head of the press service for Lugansk’s regional council, dismissed the idea that the militants had any sway in the city.
The militants occupied the local headquarters of Ukraine’s secret service on April 6, she said, and since then have held regular meetings in front of it. But their proclamations have no practical effect, she insisted in a telephone interview.
While some of Mr. Obama’s advisers want him to impose sanctions against whole sectors of the Russian economy, the president has decided against it for now, cognizant of the resistance of European nations that have far more at stake economically, officials said. During internal deliberations, Jacob J. Lew, the secretary of the Treasury, and other officials have argued for caution, maintaining that, while action is needed, more expansive measures without European support might hurt American business interests without having the desired effect on Russia, according to people informed about the discussion.
Mr. Obama has been particularly intent on not getting too far in front of Europe to avoid giving Mr. Putin a chance to drive a wedge in the international coalition that has condemned the Russian annexation of Crimea and actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine.
“The notion that for us to go forward with sectoral sanctions on our own without the Europeans would be the most effective deterrent to Mr. Putin, I think, is factually wrong,” Mr. Obama told reporters on Sunday in Malaysia. “We’re going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr. Putin when he sees that the world is unified.”
“For example,” he added, “say we’re not going to allow certain arms sales to Russia — just to take an example — but every European defense contractor backfills what we do, then it’s not very effective.”
Some officials, however, privately argue that the administration has made coordinating with Europe too high a priority and that effectively deferring to the 28-member European Union is a recipe for inaction. The United States, these officials contend, should move ahead with more decisive action on the theory that Europe wants leadership from Washington and historically joins in eventually.
“While imposing sanctions together with the E.U. would be nice, the U.S. simply has to lead and not waste more time trying to present a united approach,” said David J. Kramer, the president of Freedom House, an advocacy group, and a former Bush administration official. “It’s easier for us to do so than it is for the Europeans, and they will follow, as long as we lead.”
A task force of specialists on Russia that includes Mr. Kramer sent the White House a list of possible targets for sanctions, including Russian officials and business leaders as well as nine of its most significant companies.
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, made a similar proposal. “Hitting four of the largest banks there would send shock waves into the economy; hitting Gazprom would certainly send shock waves into the economy,” he said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on CBS.