New Anti-Russia Sanctions May Target Finance, Energy, Defense Sectors

The United States and the European Union are discussing further sanctions against Russia, including restrictive measures on financial, energy and defense sectors, CNN reported, citing unnamed US officials and European diplomats.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The sources stated the list of individuals and companies targeted by potential sanctions may also be expanded.

According to a senior US official, the West would react with new sanctions in case of escalation of the conflict in Ukraine’s east.

"There is a whole range of different options leaders will have available to respond to any renewed Russian aggression, to which we could respond pretty quickly and vigorously. We are not talking about weeks," the official was quoted as saying by CNN.

Western leaders imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia in 2014 over its alleged involvement in eastern Ukrainian conflict, which Moscow has firmly denied.

Both the United States and the European Union have made the duration of sanctions dependent on the full implementation of the February Minsk agreements on Ukraine reconciliation by the warring parties.