Sanctions expand: Obama goes after more wealthy Russians and a 'crony bank,' freezes assets and denies US access in response to Ukraine crisis
President signed new executive order authorizing the U.S. to sanction 'a whole slew' of wealthy Russians and a bank that holds their assets
New move freezes assets of new targets and prohibits them from doing business in the United States
The bank will be denied access to U.S. dollars
Additional sanctions would also go into place if Vladimir Putin invades more of Ukraine or other nations
White House aims to cripple Russian economy including financial services, energy, metals and mining, defense and related material, and engineering
Speaking on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One en route to Florida, he also announced a new raft of anti-Moscow choke-holds that the White House is attempting immediately to 'impose additional costs on Russia.'
'We're imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government ... [and] other individuals who provide material support' to them, Obama said in a brief statement.
He also announced new sanctions on Bank Rossiya, which he said 'provides material support to these individuals.'
President Barack Obama addresses the Ukraine
crisis at the White House Thursday, announcing new sanctions against
Russian officials and a bank that holds their assets, and an executive
order authorizing the government to make more moves
Showman: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L)
spoke Tuesday at a rally celebrating his annexation of Crimea and
Sevastopol after what the U.S> and other governments called an
'illegal referendum'
Obama spoke for just a few minutes before
boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, en route to
Florida for an economic speech and a Democratic Party fundraiser
'We've continued to be deeply concerned' about Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions, he said.
'We've seen an illegal referendum in Crimea [and] an illegitimate move by the Russians to annex Crimea.'
Putin's moves, he said, 'have been rejected by the international community and by the government of Ukraine.'
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US sanctions list against Russian officials is unacceptable - Kremlin
Published time: March 20, 2014 19:47
"Finding some of the names on this list causes nothing but an extreme embarrassment, but no matter what the names are, finding any lists is unacceptable for us," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Thursday.
He added that Russia’s retaliation to the new sanctions will not take long.
"In any case, Russia's reaction to these lists will be based on a reciprocity principle and will not be long in coming."
The second round of sanctions imposed on Thursday singles out 20 top Russian political figures and businessman, among whom is Sergey Ivanov, head of the Kremlin administration.
Ivanov reacted to the news with humor, Peskov said, adding that this is not the first time that a Western country has barred him from entering.
“While I cannot say anything about the reaction of others, but as far as Sergey Ivanov, he reacted with humor. In his earlier professional life, during more than 20 years of service in the first headquarters of the KGB, and then Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, as a result of operational activity he has already been denied entry to most Western countries, so he is no stranger to this," said Peskov.
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The G8 is dead declares Merkel as Europe prepares to ramp up EU sanctions against Russia
EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels to discuss developments in Ukraine
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says EU will impose more sanctions on Russia after its troops seized majority control of Crimea
She also told the German parliament the G8 forum is suspended indefinitely
EU leaders are set to meet in Brussels today to discuss how to deal with the developments in Crimea after Russian troops seized majority control of the peninsula.
In an address to the German Parliament in Berlin this morning, Merkel said the EU was readying further sanctions and that the G8 forum of leading economies has been suspended indefinitely.
Russia holds the presidency of the G8 and President Vladimir Putin was due to host his counterparts, including President Barack Obama, at a summit in Sochi in June.
But Merkel today declared the G8 will not meet again until the situation in Ukraine has been resolved.
Response: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced the EU will impose further sanctions on Russia
The G8 is dead': German Chancellor Angela Merkel
tells the lower house of parliament in Berlin the G8 forum has been
suspended indefinitely
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses
lawmakers at the lower house of parliament in Bundestag, Berlin, on
Thursday ahead of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels
Earlier this week, the EU and the United States slapped sanctions on certain individuals that were involved in what they say was the unlawful referendum in Crimea over joining Russia.
Cancelled: Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to host the G8 summit in Sochi in June
Russian forces effectively took control of Crimea some two weeks ago in the wake of the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, after months of protests and sporadic violence.
The crisis erupted late last year after Yanukovych backed out of an association deal with the EU in favor of a promised $15 billion bailout from Russia. That angered Ukrainians from pro-European central and western regions.
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Sanctions tit-for-tat: Moscow strikes back against US officials
Published time: March 20, 2014 15:37
Edited time: March 20, 2014 17:40
Edited time: March 20, 2014 17:40
THE LIST OF OFFICIALS AND LAWMAKERS
These officials, along with another five named by the Foreign Ministry, are banned from entering the country.
The move comes in response to US sanctions imposed against Russian officials after the March-16 referendum in Crimea, which Washington considered “illegitimate.”
“In response to sanctions imposed by the US Administration on 17 March against a number of Russian officials and deputies of the Federal Assembly as a “punishment” for support of the referendum in Crimea, the Russian foreign Ministry announces the introduction of reciprocal sanctions against a similar number of US officials and lawmakers,” reads the statement published on the Foreign Ministry’s website.
The Ministry reiterates that Russia has “repeatedly” stressed using sanctions is a “double-edged thing” and it will have a “boomerang” effect against the US itself.
“Treating our country in such way, as Washington could have already ascertained, is inappropriate and counterproductive,” the statement said.
I'm proud to be sanctioned by Putin - I'll never cease my
efforts & dedication to freedom & independence of
#Ukraine,
which includes #Crimea
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain)
March 20, 2014
The statement continued: “Nevertheless, it looks like the
American side continues to blindly believe in the effectiveness
of such methods, taken from the arsenal of the past, and does not
want to face the obvious: the people of Crimea, in a democratic
way in full accordance with international law and UN regulations,
voted to join Russia, which respects and accepts this choice. You
may like this decision or not, but we are talking about a
reality, which needs to be taken into consideration.”
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