sábado, 22 de marzo de 2014

sábado, marzo 22, 2014

Russia News

U.S., Russia Trade Sanctions Over Crimea

Russian Response Includes Sanctions on U.S. Lawmakers, Officials

By Carol E. Lee, Gregory L. White and Jared A. Favole 

Updated March 21, 2014 6:51 a.m. ET



A new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia over its plans to annex Crimea were laughed off by lawmakers in Russia as President Vladimir Putin saw his position strengthen in recent poll ratings reports WSJ's Greg White.

The U.S. raised the stakes Thursday in its confrontation with Russia over Crimea, aiming a new round of sanctions closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle even as Moscow struck back with penalties of its own on U.S. lawmakers and White House officials.

The Obama administration's more aggressive movetargeting a high-profile Russian bank as well as some of Mr. Putin's wealthiest and most influential supportersincreased the likelihood the retaliation could spiral.

It also marked a notable reversal for a White House that until last month saw Mr. Putin and his government as a vital international partner.

Moscow has vowed an "asymmetrical" response that could encompass global issues important to the U.S., such as the Iran nuclear talks. U.S. officials said earlier that they were prepared for a Russian move to constrict supply routes used by the U.S. that pass near and through Russian territory.

But although the deepening standoff has redefined a key segment of Mr. Obama's foreign policy—his "reset" with Russia—it hasn't ended it, officials said. The administration still considers Russia an important player in global issues, but has begun bracing for a different tenor in the relationship.

"Putin is the ultimate decision maker," a senior official said. "You can't be done with him."

The Kremlin on Thursday said it is evaluating the new U.S. sanctions, which came after a first batch on Monday. Meanwhile, Moscow responded to Monday's initial sanctions by naming six U.S. lawmakers and three White House officials to a blacklist of its own, barring them from traveling to Russia.

The European Union, meanwhile, met late into the evening Thursday to consider new sanctions of its own. EU officials said 12 people would be added to Monday's list of 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, but the new names were not immediately released.

So far, the bloc has steered clear of the oligarchs close to Mr. Putin, wary of disrupting its closer economic ties with Russia, targeting lawmakers and presidential advisers. Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the meeting that the new names would be in the same categories as before.

The new U.S. sanctions impose asset freezes and travel bans on 20 individuals, and prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with them, as well as the Russian bank.

Thursday's move made the dispute with Mr. Putin intensely personal.

"The risk of an escalatory spiral is great," said Thomas Graham, a top National Security Council adviser to former President George W. Bush and now managing director of Kissinger Associates. "So far, little economic damage has been done. That could change in the next week or so."

Shortly after the announcement, Standard & Poor's warned that it is considering cutting Russia's credit rating because of the heightened geopolitical risk, as well as the potential that further Western sanctions could batter Russia's already slowing economy.

Share prices of major Russian companies traded in the West, especially those owned by the targets of the sanctions, fell after hours Thursday.

While few of the Russian officials targeted are likely to have assets overseas in their own names, the businessmen on Thursday's list own companies with widespread financial and commercial holdings around the world.

One of the targetsGennady Timchenko, co-founder of global commodity trader Gunvor Groupsold his interest in the firm to a partner on Wednesday in anticipation of sanctions. U.S. officials charged that Mr. Putin himself holds investments in Gunvor, which the firm angrily denied Thursday.

The U.S. also slapped sanctions on another executive they said controls Bank Rossiya, one of the top 20 in Russia by assets, and acts as the Russian leader's personal banker.

The latest sanctions imposed by the U.S. had more bite than Monday's, which largely were directed at those beyond the reach of U.S. financial enforcement.

Mr. Obama said they were in response to actions Moscow has taken in Ukraine.

"The world is watching with grave concern as Russia has positioned its military in a way that could lead to further incursions into southern and eastern Ukraine," Mr. Obama said from the White House.

Fueling the broad uncertainty around the widening economic skirmish was another order Mr. Obama signed for the preparation of sanctions against broad sectors of Russia's economy.

Those sectors, a senior administration official said, include financial services, energy, metals, mining, defense and engineering.

The official said aides were working on ways to "operationalize" that order to respond to escalating or continued Russian aggression in Ukraine, where Moscow has annexed the region of Crimea and thrust the world into a Cold War-style standoff.

Russia's lower house of parliament voted Thursday to ratify the Crimea annexation treaty that Mr. Putin had signed on Tuesday. The upper house was expected to follow suit on Friday.

In another sign of the deteriorating ties, a senior official noted that Mr. Obama didn't call Mr. Putin on Thursday before the White House announcement. Mr. Obama spoke with Mr. Putin for an hour on Sunday, ahead of the first round of U.S. sanctions.

The official wasn't aware whether Russia was given any advance notice about the latest round.

U.S. officials also acknowledged that a move to formally exclude Russia from the Group of Eight leading nations will be on the table for discussion when seven of the leaders meet next week in Europe.

In public comments, the Russian targets brushed off the impact of the sanctions, with some saying they were proud to have been recognized for their service to the country. Bank Rossiya declined to comment, as did the companies owned by most of the businessmen.

Economic experts warned that sanctions can carry ripple effects, keeping risk-averse investors from areas of business that aren't even targeted.

While the sanctions don't specifically prohibit foreign-based banks from continuing relationships with Bank Rossiya, the U.S. sanctions could affect how others view it as a place to do business.

"It makes Bank Rossiya radioactive," said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank that has advised Congress on sanctions issues.

A senior Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday that Russia could retaliate with "steps that will be more painful for Washington." That could include cutting cooperation in areas like joint efforts to limit Iran's nuclear program, which Russia believes are more important to the U.S. than they are to Moscow.

In addition, he said Russia would respond on a tit-for-tat basis to any U.S. sanctions, which it did on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry announced the names of nine U.S. legislators it said would be subject to visa and financial sanctions in response to the previous U.S. list of Russian targets. The restrictions are likely to have little practical impact, however, because relatively few U.S. officials travel to Russia or have assets there.

Some of the lawmakers affected reacted as did counterparts in Russia earlier in the week—with amusement and disdain.


"While I'm disappointed that I won't be able to go on vacation with my family in Siberia this summer, I am honored to be on this list. Putin's recent aggression is unacceptable, and America must join with our European allies to isolate and punish Russia," said Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), one of those targeted.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.), another, called the sanction "a badge of honor."

The new U.S. sanctions also targeted Sergei Ivanov and Alexei Gromov, who both work in Mr. Putin's executive office, and Igor Sergun, the head of the Russian military's intelligence service. Also hit was Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the state-owned Russian Railways; and several lawmakers.

Also on Thursday, Ukraine's acting foreign minister Andriy Deshchytsia said Russia is undermining efforts to send international observers to Ukraine to monitor the situation.

"These Russian actions have all the signs of a deliberate tactic to undermine at all costs the efforts of" the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to make an objective assessment on the ground, Mr. Deshchytsia said at the OSCE in Vienna.


—Olga Razumovskaya, Alan Cullison and Nicole Lundeen contributed to this article.

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