The US Treasury has expanded the list of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Reported by RIA Novosti.
Among them were Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov, General Director of Russian Railways (RZD) Oleg Belozerov and businessman Vladimir Potanin with his wife and daughter. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, PAO Sovcomflot Chairman Sergei Frank and Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov were also present.
Sanctions were also imposed on 29 Russian governors and the son of Artem Uss, head of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The head of government of the Kherson region, Andrey Alekseenko, was also on the list.
“These governors are overseeing and implementing citizens’ appeals in response to Russia’s latest mobilization order,” Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken said in a statement.
The list of sanctions included, among others, the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov, the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Region Alexander Uss, the head of the Bryansk region Alexander Bogomaz and other officials.
Among the sanctioned entities were the DPR Ministry of Emergencies, VTB Bank and its subsidiaries, Rosbank and investment company Interros.
US destinations
Washington will not completely block the Russian financial system. This was stated to reporters by American sanctions policy coordinator James O’Brien, an employee of the US State Department.
“We know that banks do many things in many places. “We carefully examine each bank and try to prevent or mitigate the damage that could occur should the bank fail to operate,” the official said.
According to him, the State Department sees the sanctions as a gradual move and not an attempt to immediately block the entire system.
He added that the United States “sees this vital to allow world markets to function, to allow Russia to supply the food, fertilizer and energy it supplies, particularly to the global South.” But the US plans to use sanctions to deprive the Russian Federation of resources to conduct a special operation in Ukraine.
“Russia is allowed to play a role in global markets. But it will not be the pillar of a rules-based system,” added O’Brien.
He said the US administration would take further action against Russia beyond the current restrictions. According to O’Brien, the restrictions imposed by Washington are “a direct response to Russia’s escalation of hostilities in Ukraine”.
“I am personally quite optimistic that the EU will reach an agreement in the ninth round of sanctions. “It includes several key elements that we look forward to implementing with our European partners,” said the White House coordinator.
EU has not yet adopted new sanctions
Reuters reported that the EU has reached an agreement on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia.
The European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Relations and Security Policy Josep Borrell had previously confirmed that EU foreign ministers could not agree on the ninth package of sanctions against Russia. According to him, the decision on this issue will be “later”, the bloc hopes to reach an agreement on restrictions on the Russian Federation before the end of this week.
I do not think that a decision can be expected from this meeting, the work will continue in the EU Permanent Representatives Committee,” he said.
Earlier, the President of the European Council Charles Michel said that some EU countries have not agreed on the parameters of the ninth package of sanctions against Russia, the ambassadors will continue the talks. At the same time, he added that the decision to impose new restrictions on the Russian Federation will most likely be taken on December 15.
Also at the EU summit, European politicians could not agree on the principle of gas price ceilings and joint gas purchases, a decision on these issues was postponed until the planned meeting of the heads of energy ministers of EU countries in Brussels in December. 19.
“The Summit welcomed the progress made and called on the European Council to make the final decision. <…> work on proposals to increase solidarity through better coordination of gas purchases <…> and to establish reliable price metrics,” the document says.