Biden considers sanctions against Putin’s inner circle ahead of this week’s key call
CNN
By Kevin Liptak, CNN
US officials are currently weighing a wide set of sanctions on Russia meant to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from launching an invasion into Ukraine, according to people familiar with the discussions.
They include new actions against members of Putin’s inner circle and on Russian energy producers.
The officials said final decisions hadn’t been made on whether and when to apply the new sanctions, and said the Biden administration is currently in talks with European partners — many of whom have closer economic relationships to Russia — in the hopes of coordinating action.
People familiar with the discussions said new economic sanctions could target a variety of sectors, including energy producers and Russian banks. The new sanctions could also go after Russia’s sovereign debt.
They are also likely to go after top Russian oligarchs, limiting their ability to travel and potentially cutting off access to American banking and credit card systems.
President Joe Biden referred to the possible actions on Friday, telling reporters he was “putting together what I believe to be will be the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.” And Secretary of State Antony Blinken has referred to “high impact economic measures” under consideration to punish Russia.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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