U.S., EU imposing new sanctions on Russia
President Obama said Thursday that U.S. and the European Union will impose a new round of economic sanctions on Russia on Friday to keep up pressure on the Kremlin to end its military support for separatists in east Ukraine.
"We will deepen and broaden sanctions in Russia's financial, energy, and defense sectors," the president said in a statement issued by the White House on Thursday. "These measures will increase Russia's political isolation as well as the economic costs to Russia, especially in areas of importance to President (Vladimir) Putin and those close to him."
The new EU measures, which also take effect Friday, tighten Russian access to Western loans, especially for big state oil companies, and add new names to the blacklist of Russians subject to visa bans and a freeze of assets.
Obama said the coordinated sanctions were in response to Russia's "illegal actions in Ukraine" but could be rolled back if Moscow "fully implements" commitments it made in a cease-fire agreement reached last week by Russia, Ukraine and pro-Russia rebels.
"If, instead, Russia continues its aggressive actions and violations of international law, the costs will continue to rise," the president said.
The U.S., EU and NATO have accused Russia of sending military equipment and soldiers into eastern Ukraine to bolster pro-Russia separatists in their fight with Ukrainian armed forces.Moscow has denied doing so. On Wednesday, Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, said most Russian troops have left the country.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called the new measures "an absolutely unfriendly step" and said "our response would be absolutely proportional to EU measures," according to the Russian state-run ITAR-TASS news agency. .
Russia, which earlier put sanctions on the import of some Western foods, has threatened to ban the import of Western cars and clothes in response to the latest round.It also threatened to bar flyover rights to Western airlines.
"There is a whole range of non-agricultural products that make our, first of all European, partners dependent on us," presidential aide Andrei Belousov told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. "For example, imports of cars, primarily second-hand cars, as well as certain types of textile products that we are quite capable of producing on our own. Not all of them, but certain kinds."
Belousov said he hopes that "common sense will prevail and we will not have to introduce these restrictive measures.".
The Russian ruble fell to an all-time low of 37.51 rubles against the U.S. dollar on Thursday.
Contributing: Anna Arutunyan in Moscow; Associated Press