US Treasury Secretary: Anti-Russia Sanctions Over 'Troop Build-up Near Ukraine' Would Be Appropriate

Speculation over alleged Russian plans to "invade" neighbouring Ukraine has been circulating in the western media in recent weeks. Moscow has strongly rejected the allegations as "absurd".

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that it would be "appropriate" to impose economic sanctions on Russia over its alleged military build-up on the border with Ukraine.

"Agreed, that’s appropriate," Yellen said in her testimony, when asked by a lawmaker whether it would be right to bring "significant, biting financial pressure" on the Kremlin to deter the Russian alleged troop buildup.

The US Treasury usually places sanctions on individuals, companies and countries when it intends to bring financial pressure upon them to achieve certain ends. Yellen also said during her testimony that "we're very cognisant of what's happening and are involved in discussions about what the appropriate set of steps will be" on the Russia-Ukraine saga.

This comes after Kiev and its western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of "aggression" on the border with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasised that Russia does not need anybody's permission to move troops around on its territory. Russia is not threatening anyone and has no plans to attack any country, he added.

Peskov also said that speculation about Russia's "aggression" is often used as a pretext to move more NATO military equipment close to Russian borders.