Russian tank units conducted exercises in the aftermath of the fascist coup in neighboring Ukraine. The coup in Kiev was engineered by the United States., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
EU expands Russia sanctions list to 33 people, cancels EU-Russia summit
March 20, 2014 23:46
Rt.com
The EU has agreed to expand its sanctions list over the Crimea referendum by 12 more people, bringing the total to 33, said European Council President Van Rompuy.
The EU also canceled the upcoming EU-Russia summit, along with other bilateral summits.
The second round of sanctions includes asset freezes and travel bans.
The EU expanded the list of people affected by the sanctions following a summit in Brussels on Thursday and stated that more economic measures could be introduced if the situation in Ukraine escalates.
"We are ready to start stage three if there is further escalation with a view to Ukraine, those are economic sanctions and we asked the European Commission today to do preparatory work for possible economic sanctions," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
French President Francois Hollande declined to give details of the names added to the list, but stressed that it included Russians and Crimeans.
Hollande also told reporters after the meeting that he is urging Russia to pursue dialogue.
"Russia must understand that it cannot continue, that it must take the path of dialogue," Hollande said. "Borders cannot be redrawn and a region allowed to pass from one nation to another without a response.”
EU leaders asked the European Commission to look into the impact that broad economic sanctions could have on Russia, Van Rompuy told reporters.
"We strongly condemn the unconstitutional referendum in Crimea; we will not recognise it, nor will we recognise the
annexation," he said in his statement.
The EU will also be organizing its own observer mission to Ukraine if the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) does not send its own mission.
The canceled EU-Russia summit was scheduled for June 3 in Sochi, Russia.
The US also expanded its sanctions list on Thursday by adding 20 more names. US President Barack Obama announced a new executive order imposing further sanctions on top Russian officials and businessmen. The order also allows for measures against Russian energy, mining, defense, and engineering sectors.
"We're imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government. In addition, we are today sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material support to these individuals," Obama said.
The measure was slammed by Russia. “We are puzzled to see any names on the list but even if there were none, lists like that are totally unacceptable to us,” presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “In any case, it won’t take Russia long to react.”
Reacting to US actions, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, consisting of 10 names, including: House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Senator J. McCain; and advisers to President Obama D. Pfeiffer and C. Atkinson.
“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 reiterated that Russia has “repeatedly” stressed that using sanctions is a “double-edged thing” and it will have a “boomerang” effect against the US itself.
Sanctions tit-for-tat: Moscow strikes back against US officials
March 20, 2014 15:37
Rt.com
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, consisting of 10 names, including: House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Senator J. McCain; and advisers to President Obama D. Pfeiffer and C. Atkinson.
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.
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.”
On Thursday US President Barack Obama announced a new executive order imposing further on key sectors of the Russian economy and top Russian officials and businessmen. The measures will impact Russian energy, mining, defense and engineering sectors.
The Russian presidential administration has focused on analyzing new sanctions the US imposed against top officials, according to presidential spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.
He said that seeing certain names on the US sanction list “is puzzling.”
“But whatever the names are, the presence of any of the lists is unacceptable for us,” Peskov continued.
“In any case, it will not take long for Russia to react,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, 443 of 446 Russian lower house MPs voted to ratify the acceptance of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as new parts of the Russian Federation.
However, just like the US, the EU does not recognize the results of the referendum, in which over 96 percent of citizens voted to join Russia.
The referendum was followed by EU sanctions against 21 Russian and Crimean officials. The sanctions are due to be expanded when EU leaders meet for a two-day summit in Brussels on Thursday.
Also on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU will impose more sanctions on Russia and will suspend all G8 meetings until the political situation changes.
US blacklists 20 Russian officials and businessmen, threatens to sanction economy
March 20, 2014 15:11
Rt.com
US President Barack Obama has announced a new executive order imposing further sanctions on top Russian officials and businessmen. The order also allows for measures against Russian energy, mining, defense, and engineering sectors.
"We're imposing sanctions on more senior officials of the Russian government. In addition, we are today sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership, as well as a bank that provides material support to these individuals," Obama said.
The new list of sanctioned officials includes 20 names, according to the list published by the US Department of Treasury.
Aleksey Gromov, First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration; Sergey Ivanov, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office; and Sergey Naryshkin, Speaker of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament, are among those mentioned.
Prominent businessmen Arkady and Boris Rotenberg are also on the list - as well as the Russian Railways president, Vladimir Yakunin and businessman Gennady Timchenko, head of the Volga Group.
Yakunin reflected on the decision, saying he is surprised that “a country which calls itself democratic could punish for an honest position and sincere comments.”
Bank Rossiya identified by the Treasury Department as the sanctioned entity will be "frozen out of the dollar," Reuters reports quoting US officials. Bank Rossiya, headquartered in St. Petersburg, has some $10 billion in assets. Several senior government officials are known to use the bank, and Kovalchuk, who is its head, has also been sanctioned individually.
While the US president didn’t specify the ‘key sectors of Russian economy’ authorized by the order, a senior administration official mentioned those which could be hit shortly afterwards. ‘Broader’ sanctions could restrict Russian financial services, energy, mining, defense and engineering sectors.
The measure was slammed by the Kremlin.
“We are puzzled to see any names on the list but even if there were none, lists like that are totally unacceptable to us,” presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. “In any case, it won’t take Russia long to react.”
Peskov added that Ivanov took the US decision with humor, since he used to be banned from entering various Western countries throughout his political career. "There's nothing new for him (Ivanov) in that," he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his US counterpart Kerry that the decision to reunify Crimea and Russia must be respected and “is not subject to review,” according to Interfax. The US considers the reintegration of Crimea into the Russian Federation an illegal annexation on Russia's behalf.
Washington's new penalties mark the second round of economic sanctions the US has levied on Russia this week. Obama noted that the measures were being taken in the full knowledge that the move could be “disruptive to the global economy”.
The US president made the announcement just under two hours after the Russian Duma ratified the Treaty for the Accession of Crimea and city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.
Last Sunday, Crimea voted to join Russia, with some 95.7 percent of voters saying 'yes' to the reunion of the republic with Russia as a constituent unit of the Russian Federation. The overall voter turnout in the referendum on the status of Crimea was over 80 percent, according to the head of the Crimean parliament’s commission on the referendum, Mikhail Malyshev.
On Monday, the US introduced similar visa bans and asset freezes on 11 Russians and Ukrainians. The same day, some 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials fell under the impact of travel bans and asset freezes from the EU.
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