President Obama announced a new round of U.S. sanctions against Russian banks and a shipbuilding company Tuesday, saying Russia must pay an increasingly high price for its military aggression in Ukraine and the downing of a passenger jet.
The penalties follow tougher sanctions agreed to by
European Union leaders earlier in the day.
“Today is a reminder that the United States means what it says,” Mr. Obama said in a statement on the South Lawn of the White House. “It didn’t have to come to this. There continues to be a better choice.”
He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a diplomatic solution to the crisis, which began when Russian annexed the Crimea region from
Ukraine in March.
According to the Treasury Department, the new U.S. penalties target the Bank of Moscow, the Russian Agricultural Bank and VTB Bank. Also listed on the Treasury designation is the United Shipbuilding Corp., based in St. Petersburg,
Russia.
Mr. Obama told reporters that the crisis is “not a new Cold War,” but said
Russia’s actions “have made a weak Russian economy even weaker.”
“The issue is how do we prevent bloodshed in eastern
Ukraine,” he said, adding that “nice words from President Putin that are not matched by actions.”
The
European Union agreed Tuesday to place sanctions on broad sectors of the Russian economy, marking an escalation of the bloc’s response to Moscow’s role in provoking the conflict in eastern
Ukraine.
Some
EU members, notably Germany, had been reluctant to take the step prior to the downing 10 days ago of a Malaysian Airlines jetliner that killed all 298 people aboard. The West blames a missile fired by
Russia-backed separatists.
The
EU’s action will target finance, dual-use equipment with possible military applications, arms and oil-production equipment. The penalties will curtail the ability of
Russia’s state-owned banks from borrowing on European markets.
There will also be an embargo on
Russia’s arms trade and restrictions on exports of militarily sensitive goods and technology.
Along with the sanctions, Secretary of State John F. Kerry demanded that
Russia compel separatists in eastern
Ukraine to accept a cease-fire.
Previously, the
EU and U.S. have imposed asset freezes and travel bans on individual Russians and pro-Russian separatists in
Ukraine.
