In a rare move, the US has slapped sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, holding them "directly responsible" for Moscow's "unprovoked and unlawful" invasion of Ukraine. The European Union and Canada followed suit in imposing sanctions on them
The latest US sanctions build on other sweeping actions that America and partners took earlier this week targeting the core infrastructure of the Russian financial system, including sanctions against Moscow's largest financial institutions, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement.
The US, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to forcefully respond to Russia’s "unjustified, unprovoked and premeditated" invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Putin and Lavrov, as well as other members of Russia’s Security Council, according to the statement issued on Friday.
Putin and Lavrov are "directly responsible for Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful further invasion of Ukraine, a democratic sovereign state", it said.
The sanctions will go directly after their assets.
It is exceedingly rare for the Treasury to designate a head of state. "President Putin joins a very small group that includes despots such as (North Korea's) Kim Jong Un, (Belarus President) Alyaksandr Lukashenka, and (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad," the statement said.
In addition, the US also slapped sanctions against Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defence, and General of the Army Valery Gerasimov. The Treasury has previously designated 11 members of the Russian Security Council.
President Joe Biden has built a global coalition to stand up in the face of Putin and his "aggression and invasion of Ukraine”, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.
“What he has done is he has rallied the world, our European partners, even at cost to them in some capacities, to put in place significant sanctions, historic sanctions that would have an enormous impact on the Russian financial sector. It is President Putin's choice to go to war and invade Ukraine. That is what he has done,” she said.
“It is our choice and our responsibility, and the role of the president of the United States to rally opposition and make sure they feel significant pain from that choice. That's exactly what we have done,” Psaki said.
EU, Canada’s sanctions
European Union states have also joined the US in slapping sanctions by freezing all European assets of Putin and his foreign minister.
Envoys of the EU's 27 member states agreed on a new wave of measures—their second this week—to hit Russia's elite and thwart operations of 70 per cent of the country's banking system.
One EU diplomat told Reuters that though the Russian leaders may not have large assets in Europe, the move was a politically important signal.
Canada also imposed sanctions on the two leaders, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying this set of actions against Russia this week would target Putin and his "fellow architects of this barbaric war".
Canada will also levy additional sanctions on Belarus and its leaders for "abetting" Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Trudeau said at a news conference. He also said Canada supports the removal of Russia from the SWIFT system for international bank payments, which will affect Russia’s ability to make financial transactions around the world.
Russia’s embassy to Canada responded to the sanctions, saying that a “response would follow” and calling them an “unprecedently unfriendly” and “absurd” step.
“It contradicts all principles of interstate relations and diplomatic ethics,” the embassy said in a statement. “The [Canadian] Cabinet is approaching the point of an irreparable severance of bilateral ties. Response will follow.”
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Europe to act more quickly and forcefully. He said Russia hasn't been deterred by the sanctions imposed on it by the US and its allies and that it would not be enough to stop them from taking over the country.
- With inputs from agencies
