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| European Union Pushes Forward With Tougher Sanctions on Russia | European Union Pushes Forward With Tougher Sanctions on Russia |
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| BRUSSELS — The United States and Europe agreed on Thursday to place additional economic sanctions on Russia over its role in promoting separatist warfare in eastern Ukraine despite a fragile new cease-fire that went into effect last week. | BRUSSELS — The United States and Europe agreed on Thursday to place additional economic sanctions on Russia over its role in promoting separatist warfare in eastern Ukraine despite a fragile new cease-fire that went into effect last week. |
| European leaders overcame resistance among some of their colleagues who wanted to continue delaying additional measures to see if the shaky truce, negotiated in Minsk, Belarus, holds. President Obama then followed suit shortly afterward by announcing that he would match the new European moves when they take effect on Friday. | |
| “We are watching closely developments since the announcement of the cease-fire and agreement in Minsk, but we have yet to see conclusive evidence that Russia has ceased its efforts to destabilize Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “If Russia fully implements its commitments, these sanctions can be rolled back. If instead Russia continues its aggressive actions and violations of international law, the costs will continue to rise.” | “We are watching closely developments since the announcement of the cease-fire and agreement in Minsk, but we have yet to see conclusive evidence that Russia has ceased its efforts to destabilize Ukraine,” Mr. Obama said. He added: “If Russia fully implements its commitments, these sanctions can be rolled back. If instead Russia continues its aggressive actions and violations of international law, the costs will continue to rise.” |
| Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, the body representing the European Union’s leaders, said the sanctions to be put into effect on Friday would be reviewed by diplomats before the end of the month and could be revised swiftly if events warranted. “We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures,” he said. | Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, the body representing the European Union’s leaders, said the sanctions to be put into effect on Friday would be reviewed by diplomats before the end of the month and could be revised swiftly if events warranted. “We have always stressed the reversibility and scalability of our restrictive measures,” he said. |
| Neither side publicly announced the specific actions to be taken, leaving that until Friday, but officials said they would be aimed at Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors. | Neither side publicly announced the specific actions to be taken, leaving that until Friday, but officials said they would be aimed at Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors. |
| Both the United States and Europe will further restrict Russian access to credit markets for loans maturing in more than 30 days, according to officials briefed on the plans. The United States will add Sberbank, Russia’s largest, to its list of institutions subject to the limits, according to the officials. | Both the United States and Europe will further restrict Russian access to credit markets for loans maturing in more than 30 days, according to officials briefed on the plans. The United States will add Sberbank, Russia’s largest, to its list of institutions subject to the limits, according to the officials. |
| The United States and Europe will both further tighten restrictions first imposed in July on the export of energy technology that would help Russia develop its Arctic, deep sea and shale oil reserves, officials said. Europe will ban 24 more Russian officials from traveling to its member states and freeze any assets held there, according to a diplomat familiar with the plan. | The United States and Europe will both further tighten restrictions first imposed in July on the export of energy technology that would help Russia develop its Arctic, deep sea and shale oil reserves, officials said. Europe will ban 24 more Russian officials from traveling to its member states and freeze any assets held there, according to a diplomat familiar with the plan. |
| The Kremlin lost no time in vowing to retaliate. | The Kremlin lost no time in vowing to retaliate. |
| Although Russian officials did not announce any specifics, they have previously threatened to ban flights by Western airlines over Russian airspace, potentially closing off an enormous stretch of territory and forcing costly detours for long-haul flights between Europe and eastern Asia. | Although Russian officials did not announce any specifics, they have previously threatened to ban flights by Western airlines over Russian airspace, potentially closing off an enormous stretch of territory and forcing costly detours for long-haul flights between Europe and eastern Asia. |
| Andrey Belousov, a senior economic aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said Thursday that another response might be to ban imports of automobiles to Russia, which is a huge market for used cars from Europe and Japan. | Andrey Belousov, a senior economic aide to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said Thursday that another response might be to ban imports of automobiles to Russia, which is a huge market for used cars from Europe and Japan. |
| “We have a full series of nonagricultural products, where our, above all European, partners depend more on Russia, than Russia on them,” Mr. Belousov said at an economic forum in the Russian city of Samara, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. “This concerns, for instance, the import of automobiles, above all, used cars.” | “We have a full series of nonagricultural products, where our, above all European, partners depend more on Russia, than Russia on them,” Mr. Belousov said at an economic forum in the Russian city of Samara, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. “This concerns, for instance, the import of automobiles, above all, used cars.” |
| Russia has already banned a variety of food and agricultural imports, including meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, as retaliation for earlier rounds of sanctions. | Russia has already banned a variety of food and agricultural imports, including meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway, as retaliation for earlier rounds of sanctions. |
| A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr Lukashevich, denounced the new Western sanctions at a briefing in Moscow. He accused Russia’s critics of using the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine as a pretext for inflicting unjustified economic harm on Russia. | A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Aleksandr Lukashevich, denounced the new Western sanctions at a briefing in Moscow. He accused Russia’s critics of using the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine as a pretext for inflicting unjustified economic harm on Russia. |
| The United States has generally been more aggressive than Europe in seeking to penalize Russia for its role in Ukraine. European nations have tended to move more guardedly, in part because they have closer economic ties to Russia and European businesses have more to lose in the event of retaliation by Moscow. | The United States has generally been more aggressive than Europe in seeking to penalize Russia for its role in Ukraine. European nations have tended to move more guardedly, in part because they have closer economic ties to Russia and European businesses have more to lose in the event of retaliation by Moscow. |
| During deliberations among the Europeans on the latest round of sanctions, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany argued vociferously in favor of moving ahead without waiting to see if the cease-fire would hold. American officials said Russia still had 1,000 troops inside Ukraine and that Moscow had made it clear it had no intention of reversing its annexation of Crimea. | During deliberations among the Europeans on the latest round of sanctions, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany argued vociferously in favor of moving ahead without waiting to see if the cease-fire would hold. American officials said Russia still had 1,000 troops inside Ukraine and that Moscow had made it clear it had no intention of reversing its annexation of Crimea. |
| While Ms. Merkel prevailed, the provisional nature of the European Union’s action was underscored at a news briefing, when a European official detailed how the sanctions would be reviewed for possible revision or repeal almost from the moment they are imposed. | While Ms. Merkel prevailed, the provisional nature of the European Union’s action was underscored at a news briefing, when a European official detailed how the sanctions would be reviewed for possible revision or repeal almost from the moment they are imposed. |
| “The work will start pretty soon,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity before the formal publication of the sanctions. The official would not give an estimate of how long the review would take, but said, “I think that the bulk of the work is expected to be done through the month of September.” All 28 member nations would have to agree on any changes. | “The work will start pretty soon,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity before the formal publication of the sanctions. The official would not give an estimate of how long the review would take, but said, “I think that the bulk of the work is expected to be done through the month of September.” All 28 member nations would have to agree on any changes. |
| The official said good news from Ukraine might make the decision easier: “We have seen the first positive steps that could pave the way in what we are hoping could become a sustainable political solution, but at the moment this is still very much a developing situation.” | The official said good news from Ukraine might make the decision easier: “We have seen the first positive steps that could pave the way in what we are hoping could become a sustainable political solution, but at the moment this is still very much a developing situation.” |