U.S. President Barack Obama has said that "experts at the highest level, and not just bilaterally, but multilaterally" are working on the sectoral economic sanctions, including the arms sector, the finance sector and other sectors of the Russian economy.
“You’ve got to keep in mind that when it comes to sectoral sanctions
we’re looking at a whole range of issues. Energy flows from Russia to
Europe – those continued even in the midst of the Cold War, at the
height of the Cold War. So the idea that you’re going to turn off the
tap on all Russian oil or natural gas exports I think is unrealistic.
But there are a range of approaches that can be taken not only in the
energy sector, but in the arms sector, the finance sector, in terms of
lines of credit for trade – all that have a significant impact on
Russia. I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to delve into the details
at this stage because our hope is that we don’t have to deploy them,” he
said on May 2 in Washington at a joint press conference with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“What I can say is, is that our experts at the highest level, and not
just bilaterally, but multilaterally through the European Commission
and our diplomatic teams, have been working through all the
possibilities, and we’re confident that we will have a package that will
further impact Russia’s growth and economy… We’re not interested in
punishing the Russian people. We do think that Mr. Putin and his
leadership circle are taking bad decisions and unnecessary decisions and
he needs to be dissuaded from his current course,” Obama said.
“We are ready and prepared to go to such a step,” Merkel confirmed.
“We want to continue to keep open the possibility of resolving the
issue diplomatically… The Russian leadership must know that if it
continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine and disrupt this month’s
presidential election, we will move quickly on additional steps,
including further sanctions that will impose greater costs… The
consultations have been taking place over the course of the last several
weeks about what exactly those would look like, and would apply to a
range of sectors. The goal is not to punish Russia; the goal is to give
them an incentive to choose the better course, and that is to resolve
these issues diplomatically,” Obama said.
“Within Europe, within the EU, I’m sure there has to be extensive
consultations. You’ve got 28 countries and some are more vulnerable than
others to potential Russian retaliation, and we have to take those into
account. Not every country is going to be in exactly the same place.
But what has been remarkable is the degree to which all countries agree
that Russia has violated international law, violated territorial
integrity and sovereignty of a country in Europe. And I think there’s
unanimity that there has to be consequences for that,” he said.
