US and UK ramp up sanctions pressure on Russia

A proposal on security issues presented last week by the US and NATO to Russia may have stirred interest in Moscow.

Demonstrators make their feelings clear at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Sunday. Picture: AFP

The US and Britain have flagged new and “devastating” economic sanctions against Russia, as Washington and its NATO allies step up efforts to deter any invasion of Ukraine.

Fears of an imminent invasion have grown in recent days, despite denials from Moscow and pleas from Ukraine’s President to avoid stirring “panic” over the Russian military build-up on the border.

Amid a flurry of diplomatic contacts, US Under-Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said on Sunday (Monday AEDT) that a proposal on security issues presented last week by the US and NATO to Russia may have stirred interest in Moscow.

“We’ve heard some signs that the Russians are interested in ­engaging on that proposal,” Ms Nuland said on CBS, including the likelihood of new talks this week between Secretary of State ­Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

The chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, meanwhile, took a tough stance, saying it was crucial that the US send a powerful message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that any aggression against Ukraine would come at a very high cost.

“We cannot have a Munich moment again,” senator Bob Menendez said on CNN. “Putin will not stop with Ukraine.”

He indicated some penalties could be levied over actions Russia has already taken in Ukraine, ­including cyber attacks, but that “devastating sanctions that ultimately would crush Russia” would come if Moscow were to invade.

Ms Nuland said the White House was working closely with the Senate, and that any sanctions measures would be “very well-aligned” with those coming from European allies. Mr Putin “will feel it acutely, as will the Russian people”, she said.

In London, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain would unveil sanctions legislation this week targeting “a much wider variety” of Russian economic targets.

“There will be nowhere to hide for Putin’s oligarchs,” Mr Truss told Sky News. But she cautioned that European allies must remain united in deterring Moscow, and not place “immediate financial ­issues” over the defence of “freedom and democracy”.

Analysts say an array of sanctions hitting Russian banks and ­financial institutions would not only affect daily life throughout Russia but could roil major economies in Europe and elsewhere.

Western leaders are continuing to pursue a two-pronged ­approach, stepping up military ­assistance to Ukraine but also undertaking a full-court diplo­matic effort to defuse the crisis.

Britain is preparing to offer NATO a “major” deployment of troops, weapons, warships and jets, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday. At the same time, he is expected to speak with Mr Putin this week.

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday welcomed the increased military support while also endorsing London’s diplomatic initiative.

With tensions rising, Canada announced the temporary repatriation of all non-essential employees in its Kiev embassy. And Defence Minister Anita Anand said Canadian forces in Ukraine were protectively being moved west of the Dnieper River.

Relations between Russia and the West are at their lowest point since the Cold War.

But Russia has repeatedly ­denied posing a threat to the one-time Soviet republic and said on Sunday that it wanted “respectful” relations with the United States.

“We want good, equal, mutually respectful relations with the United States, like with every country in the world,” Mr Lavrov told Russian TV. He added, however, that Russia does not want to remain in a position “where our ­security is infringed daily”.

Citing NATO’s presence near its eastern border, Russia has put forward security demands to Washington and the alliance. They include a guarantee that NATO will not admit new members, in particular Ukraine, and that the US will not establish new military bases in ex-Soviet countries. Russia has also demanded a pullback of NATO forces deployed to eastern European and ex-Soviet countries.

In the face of the Russian build-up, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the West to tone down the rhetoric.

Amid the ongoing diplomatic contacts, Mr Putin spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday. And senior officials from France, Germany and Poland are expected to visit Ukraine in the coming days.

AFP