Saturday 13 September 2014

US imposes harsh new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine and Russia vows "adequate response"



The United States has imposed harsh new sanctions on major Russian banks, defense and energy companies over the crisis in Ukraine.

The new sanctions, announced by the US Treasury Department on Friday, include restricting exports of American goods, services and technology to Russia’s largest oil companies.

The sanctions also affect six Russian banks by barring American individuals and companies from dealing in any debt they issue of longer than 30 days maturity.

"Given Russia's direct military intervention and blatant efforts to destabilize Ukraine, we have deepened our sanctions against Russia today, in concert with our European allies," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement.

"Russia’s economic and diplomatic isolation will continue to grow as long as its actions do not live up to its words," Lew added.

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama announced plans to ratchet up sanctions against Russia over its “direct military intervention” in Ukraine.
The new US sanctions coincides with sanctions from the European Union against several state-owned Russian firms and politicians, further escalating tension between the West and Russia.

The US and EU have already imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russian firms and individuals, including visa bans and asset freezes. They accuse Moscow of orchestrating an “illegitimate referendum to annex Crimea” and fuelling unrest in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has long denied involvement in Ukraine's crisis and has warned of an asymmetrical response if more sanctions are implemented. In August, Russia introduced a year-long ban on certain food imports from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway.

On September 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the countries that have imposed sanctions against Moscow will be affected the most by the consequences of the bans.
AHT/GJH



Russia has strongly condemned a fresh round of European Union sanctions against Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine, vowing to take "adequate measures" in response to the new embargoes.
“On many levels, the Russian leadership has made it clear that we’ll take adequate measures and our response will be absolutely comparable with the actions by the EU,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said in a Thursday statement, "By making this step, the European Union has practically made its choice against the peaceful settlement of the internal crisis in Ukraine whose support is expected from all responsible forces in Europe."

"Brussels and leaders of EU member countries must explain clearly to EU citizens why they are putting them at risk of confrontation, economic stagnation and job losses," the statement added.

Earlier in the day, the European Council officially unveiled additional sanctions against Russia adopted by the 28-member EU earlier this week. The fresh round of sanctions will take effect on Friday.

Russia's Ambassador to EU Vladimir Chizhov has said that by imposing new sanctions on Russia, the EU ignores the de-escalation of the crisis in Ukraine and forces Russia to take certain countermeasures.

The EU and the United States have slapped several rounds of economic sanctions against Russia over Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.
On August 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Western sanctions by imposing a one-year ban on the import of certain food products from the EU, the US, Canada, Australia and Norway.

The products subject to the ban are beef, pork, poultry, fish, fruit, vegetables, cheese, milk and other dairy products.

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