‘You know, both in the first case — the US sanctions — and in the second case — introduction of a visa regime with Ukraine — I think we should for now hold off on reciprocal steps,’ Putin told a meeting of his Security Council.
Putin made light of the fresh US sanctions, saying he would now open an account with a bank targeted by US punitive measures. ‘As far as this financial institution is concerned, as I understand it's a middle-sized bank,’ Putin said in comments released by the Kremlin, referring to Bank Rossiya.
‘I personally did not have an account with it but will open an account there on Monday for sure.’ Washington targeted Bank Rossiya as a ‘crony bank’ for the Russian elite and also threatened to target the broader Russian economy if Moscow escalates the Ukraine crisis.
The Russian strongman, known for his sense of humour, jokingly suggested he should steer clear of the targeted officials. ‘You have to stay away from them, they are compromising us,’ he said to laughter.
Participants of the Security Council meeting included several of the blacklisted officials, among them Putin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. US President Barack Obama had on Thursday announced fresh sanctions against some of Putin's closest allies including several billionaire businessmen.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew claimed on Friday that Russia has started feeling the impact of the sanctions and the new curbs announced by President Barack Obama will have serious consequences on the its economy. ‘Russia has already begun to feel the impact of the international community’s united effort to respond to its unlawful and provocative acts, and the actions we have taken today will ratchet up the pressure on the Russian economy even more,’ Lew said.
‘The sanctions will have serious consequences, and they send a clear signal to the Russian government that their recent actions undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine will not go unanswered,’ he said hours after Obama announced new set of curbs on Russia in retaliation of Ukraine crisis.
Lew threatened to designate entities and individuals in key sectors of the Russian economy like financial services, energy, metals &mining, engineering, and defence and related materiel. ‘This provides us with broader tools to highlight the future choices facing Russia's leaders, and our use of these tools will be based on careful consideration of what will be most effective in meeting that objective,’ he added. He said ‘the US is ready to take additional steps to demonstrate that there are cost for violating international law’.
‘With its currency near an all-time low, its stock market down 20 per cent this year and a marked rise in interest rates, Russia has already started to bear the economic costs of its unlawful effort to undermine Ukraine’s security, stability and sovereignty,’ said US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S Cohen.
EU follows Uncle Sam’s example, imposes curbs
Brussels: The EU has slapped an asset freeze and travel ban on 12 more Russians and Ukrainians following Moscow's annexation of Crimea, bringing to 33 the number of figures targeted by the European bloc.
French President Francois Hollande announced the measure after a meeting of European Union heads of state and government gathered to discuss the Ukraine crisis for the second time in less than two weeks. ‘Russia must understand that it cannot continue, that it must take the path of dialogue,’ Hollande said.
The EU move came on the heels of an announcement by US President Barack Obama of a new round of punitive measures against 20 Russian lawmakers and senior government officials, in addition to 11 individuals already targeted.
Russia has retaliated by issuing its own list of sanctions against nine US officials, including senior political figures and aides to Obama. Hollande said earlier that ‘borders cannot be redrawn and a region allowed to pass from one nation to another without a response’.
Putin made light of the fresh US sanctions, saying he would now open an account with a bank targeted by US punitive measures. ‘As far as this financial institution is concerned, as I understand it's a middle-sized bank,’ Putin said in comments released by the Kremlin, referring to Bank Rossiya.
‘I personally did not have an account with it but will open an account there on Monday for sure.’ Washington targeted Bank Rossiya as a ‘crony bank’ for the Russian elite and also threatened to target the broader Russian economy if Moscow escalates the Ukraine crisis.
The Russian strongman, known for his sense of humour, jokingly suggested he should steer clear of the targeted officials. ‘You have to stay away from them, they are compromising us,’ he said to laughter.
Participants of the Security Council meeting included several of the blacklisted officials, among them Putin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma. US President Barack Obama had on Thursday announced fresh sanctions against some of Putin's closest allies including several billionaire businessmen.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew claimed on Friday that Russia has started feeling the impact of the sanctions and the new curbs announced by President Barack Obama will have serious consequences on the its economy. ‘Russia has already begun to feel the impact of the international community’s united effort to respond to its unlawful and provocative acts, and the actions we have taken today will ratchet up the pressure on the Russian economy even more,’ Lew said.
‘The sanctions will have serious consequences, and they send a clear signal to the Russian government that their recent actions undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine will not go unanswered,’ he said hours after Obama announced new set of curbs on Russia in retaliation of Ukraine crisis.
Lew threatened to designate entities and individuals in key sectors of the Russian economy like financial services, energy, metals &mining, engineering, and defence and related materiel. ‘This provides us with broader tools to highlight the future choices facing Russia's leaders, and our use of these tools will be based on careful consideration of what will be most effective in meeting that objective,’ he added. He said ‘the US is ready to take additional steps to demonstrate that there are cost for violating international law’.
‘With its currency near an all-time low, its stock market down 20 per cent this year and a marked rise in interest rates, Russia has already started to bear the economic costs of its unlawful effort to undermine Ukraine’s security, stability and sovereignty,’ said US Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S Cohen.
EU follows Uncle Sam’s example, imposes curbs
Brussels: The EU has slapped an asset freeze and travel ban on 12 more Russians and Ukrainians following Moscow's annexation of Crimea, bringing to 33 the number of figures targeted by the European bloc.
French President Francois Hollande announced the measure after a meeting of European Union heads of state and government gathered to discuss the Ukraine crisis for the second time in less than two weeks. ‘Russia must understand that it cannot continue, that it must take the path of dialogue,’ Hollande said.
The EU move came on the heels of an announcement by US President Barack Obama of a new round of punitive measures against 20 Russian lawmakers and senior government officials, in addition to 11 individuals already targeted.
Russia has retaliated by issuing its own list of sanctions against nine US officials, including senior political figures and aides to Obama. Hollande said earlier that ‘borders cannot be redrawn and a region allowed to pass from one nation to another without a response’.