#USannouncessanctions on #Putins #innercircle over #Ukraine • #Sevenofficials and #17companiestargeted • #Statement: #involvement in #Ukraineviolence #indisputable Share 116 Tweet this Email Spencer Ackerman in New York, Julian Borger and Jennifer Rankin in London theguardian, Monday 28 April 2014 16.05 BST Jump to comments (261) Barack Obama President Barack Obama speaks in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photograph: Carolyn Kaster/AP The US on Monday announced sanctions on officials and companies linked to President Vladimir Putins inner circle, accusing Russia of provocative acts and undermining democracy in Ukraine. The White House announcement included visa bans, asset freezes and export licence denials on a panoply of top Russian officials and firms as reprisal for the continuing destabilisation of eastern Ukraine. In a statement, the White House called Russian involvement in the Ukraine crisis “indisputable.” But senior administration officials said that an immediate change in Russian behaviour was unlikely. They hinted that “sectoral sanctions” would be held in reserve should Russia invade Ukraine outright or otherwise contribute to the violent separatism facing eastern Ukraine – despite conceding that such sanctions may pose a risk to the global economy. Seven Russian officials and two Putin confidantes will have their assets frozen and be subjected to a US visa ban. Seventeen Russian companies will also be subject to the asset freeze, with 13 of them subject to what the White House called a “presumption of denial” on licenses for export, re-export or transfer of goods or items from the US to them. Among them are two Putin allies tied to massive state-owned oil firm, Rosneft – Igor Sechin, the president, and Sergei Chemezov, a member of the board who also directs a state-owned holding company. Like other Russian energy firms, Rosneft has deep ties with American-based counterparts, particularly ExxonMobil, with whom it has a $500 million joint venture for exploration of Arctic oil. Sechin is a longtime ally of Putin, and worked under him in the St Petersburg city hall in the early 90s. When Putin left for Moscow, he took Sechin with him. They become the targets of a process of economic pressure accelerated by President Barack Obama on 20 March, when the oil and gas firms that provide much of Russia’s exports first came under sanctions. Jack Lew, the US treasury secretary, said the action was taken in close co-ordination with the European Union, which said it would impose visa bans and asset freezes on 15 individuals. The EU did not publish the names of those on its list, which must be approved by national governments. Beyond the targeting of individuals and firms, the US Treasury and commerce departments on Monday will restrict their policies on export licence applications for items that could add new high-technology capabilities to the Russian military. A senior administration official pointed to microelectronics as a field for export licence denials. Speaking in Manila, Obama said the goal of the new round of sanctions was to change the Russian calculation in its sponsorship of separatists in Ukraine. “The goal is not to go after Mr Putin personally. The goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that hes engaging in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul,” Obama said. The administration said that further sanctions could include targeting sectors of the Russian economy such as financial services and energy, the impact of which would be “far more powerful” than those announced on Monday, officials said. An administration official briefing reporters on background said Russia could expect “much more severe economic pain, much more severe political isolation, and, frankly, that Russia stands far more to lose continuing these actions over time than pursuing deescalation”. The US conceded that the list of Russian entities targeted by the EU is likely to diverge from the American one. But the Obama administration insisted it was confident the Europeans were on board with the so-called sectoral sanctions that could target entire areas of Russian economic activity. After a weekend round of phone calls between Obama and European leaders on Ukraine, “we’re also confident that the Europeans are with us in their commitment to impose those sectoral sanctions, should we see, for instance, Russian troops move across that border,” a senior administration official said. It is unclear what Russian measures in Ukraine short of a full invasion would trigger the sectoral sanctions. Russia has been accused of sponsoring pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine who have seized government buildings, TV stations and wounded and killed politicians, among other destabilising actions. The Obama administration indicated it believes it is more likely to influence Russian behaviour through economic pressure than it was through providing additional and potentially lethal military aid, citing the massive discrepancy in Ukrainian and Russian military capabilities. Last week, a contingent of US soldiers from the 173rd infantry combat team arrived in a Polish air base, part of a commitment of 600 troops the administration will send to Poland and the Baltic states on a so-called training mission that the White House hopes will have a deterrent value. Russian officials vowed to take reprisal measures for the American sanctions package. “We are certain that this response will have a painful effect on Washington,” deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Interfax news agency. theguardian/world/2014/apr/28/us-new-sanctions-russian-officials-companies-putin?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-3%20Main%20trailblock:Network%20front%20-%20main%20trailblock:Position1
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 19:14:56 +0000
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