The Kremlin on Wednesday said that any kind of personal sanctions on Russian president Vladimir Putin would not help in reducing tensions across the Russian-Ukrainian border. It said that any such move would be ‘counterproductive’, according to a report by news agency AFP.
“Politically, it’s not painful, it’s destructive,” Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s spokesperson was quoted as saying by the AFP. Peskov’s remarks come hours after US president Joe Biden, while addressing reporters at the White House’s briefing room, said that he would consider economic sanctions personally targeting Vladimir Putin if he attacks Ukraine. “Yes. I would see that,” Biden said, according to the AFP, while taking questions on the subject from reporters.
The US continues to warn Russia of severe economic sanctions if it makes a move to invade Ukraine. The developments come amid the ongoing standoff between Russia and Ukraine as Russia amasses close to 100,000 troops on the Russian-Ukrainian border and fuels an anti-Ukraine insurgency in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and also supports pro-Russian insurgents in the region.
The US and NATO also have signaled that they would be ready to quit the ‘do not provoke Russia’ stance if the situation worsens. This was signaled when NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said earlier this week that NATO would discharge ships and aircrafts to bolster its eastern European allies’ defences in case of a Russian aggression. The US president Joe Biden, according to a report, will take a decision this week to send thousands of troops to eastern Europe in case Russia invades Ukraine.
The UK, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania extended military support to Ukraine earlier this month.
But the US and NATO will rely on economic sanctions to contain the Russian threat to Ukraine. The US earlier said that it may consider shelving the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. The White House earlier said that it was a ‘credible piece’ it has over Russia. The US also warned Russia that it will remove Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system and will also consider imposing sanctions on individuals and businesses.
Read all the Latest News here
Comments
0 comment