The United States on Tuesday imposed a fresh round of trade sanctions on Russia and Ukrainian separatists, toughening the stance just as President Donald Trump was hosting his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko.
The new sanctions also followed moves by lawmakers last week to impose new Russia sanctions and prevent the White House from unilaterally easing sanctions on Moscow over alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
The Treasury Department said Tuesday the strengthened sanctions targeted individuals and organizations connected to the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine and would remain in place until Russia met obligations under peace accords of 2014 and 2015.
"These designations will maintain pressure on Russia to work toward a diplomatic solution," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 38 individuals and organizations, including two Russian government officials and 11 others who operate in the annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea.
The move freezes any US-based assets of the individuals and entities, and effectively blocks them from using much of the global banking system.
Among the individuals sanctioned was Petr Jarosh, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service in Crimea and Alexander Babakov, a Russian official liaising with Russian expatriates.
The Treasury also barred Americans from offering new loans of greater than 90 days to 20 subsidiaries of the Russian energy firm Transneft, which already was subject to US sanctions.
The United States on Tuesday imposed a fresh round of trade sanctions on Russia and Ukrainian separatists, toughening the stance just as President Donald Trump was hosting his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko.
The new sanctions also followed moves by lawmakers last week to impose new Russia sanctions and prevent the White House from unilaterally easing sanctions on Moscow over alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
The Treasury Department said Tuesday the strengthened sanctions targeted individuals and organizations connected to the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine and would remain in place until Russia met obligations under peace accords of 2014 and 2015.
“These designations will maintain pressure on Russia to work toward a diplomatic solution,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 38 individuals and organizations, including two Russian government officials and 11 others who operate in the annexed Ukrainian region of Crimea.
The move freezes any US-based assets of the individuals and entities, and effectively blocks them from using much of the global banking system.
Among the individuals sanctioned was Petr Jarosh, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service in Crimea and Alexander Babakov, a Russian official liaising with Russian expatriates.
The Treasury also barred Americans from offering new loans of greater than 90 days to 20 subsidiaries of the Russian energy firm Transneft, which already was subject to US sanctions.
