U.S. prepared to place unilateral sanctions on Russian officials, businesses
By Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan, WashPost, Published: March 4
The Obama administration is prepared to take unilateral steps to sanction Russian individuals and business entities it holds responsible for corrupt and illegal behavior in Ukraine while it moves to persuade its European partners, some more reluctant than others, to consider more substantive sanctions to directly affect the Russian economy, according to senior administration officials.
The officials declined to provide a timeline but said Tuesday that Russian actions over the next few days would demonstrate whether President Vladimir Putin has any interest in an early de-escalation of the situation in the autonomous Ukrainian region of Crimea.
Even as it tried to provide Putin with a face-saving way out, the administration publicly challenged his stated reasons for deploying thousands of Russian troops across Crimea, where they have surrounded government buildings and military installations.
In statements of disbelief bordering on ridicule, President Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry dismissed Putin’s assertions that his troops are protecting ethnic Russians in Crimea threatened by pro-Western Ukrainians who took over the country last week in what Putin called a “coup.”
(More here.)
The Obama administration is prepared to take unilateral steps to sanction Russian individuals and business entities it holds responsible for corrupt and illegal behavior in Ukraine while it moves to persuade its European partners, some more reluctant than others, to consider more substantive sanctions to directly affect the Russian economy, according to senior administration officials.
The officials declined to provide a timeline but said Tuesday that Russian actions over the next few days would demonstrate whether President Vladimir Putin has any interest in an early de-escalation of the situation in the autonomous Ukrainian region of Crimea.
Even as it tried to provide Putin with a face-saving way out, the administration publicly challenged his stated reasons for deploying thousands of Russian troops across Crimea, where they have surrounded government buildings and military installations.
In statements of disbelief bordering on ridicule, President Obama and Secretary of State John F. Kerry dismissed Putin’s assertions that his troops are protecting ethnic Russians in Crimea threatened by pro-Western Ukrainians who took over the country last week in what Putin called a “coup.”
(More here.)
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