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U.S. Imposes Visa Ban in Ukraine Crisis U.S. Escalates Sanction Response in Ukraine Crisis
(about 2 hours later)
ROME — The State Department has imposed a ban on visas for officials and other people who have taken steps to undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the Obama administration announced on Thursday. ROME — The United States escalated its response to Russia’s military and economic threats to Ukraine on Thursday, announcing it has imposed visa bans on officials and others deemed responsible for actions that have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The measure is particularly significant because the ban will apply to Russian as well as Ukrainian citizens who are “responsible for or complicit in threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” according to a statement issued by Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. The new sanctions, announced by the Obama administration, carried the threat of further steps. The announcement came as the European Union was considering its own punitive measures and as Secretary of State John Kerry met for a second day with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on ways to defuse the Ukraine crisis, one of the most serious East-West confrontations since the Cold War.
The new restrictions are in addition to visa bans that had already been imposed on those considered responsible for human rights abuses and political oppression in Ukraine. Russian officials reacted angrily and suggested that Russia would reciprocate with its own anti-American sanctions.
The visa ban was just one step that the Obama administration took on Thursday. President Obama also issued an executive order that provides the legal basis for imposing additional sanctions on “individuals and entities” who have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “The U.S. has the right, and we have the right to respond to it,” Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s human rights commissioner and a former ambassador to the United States, was quoted by Russia’s Interfax news agency as saying. “But all that is, of course, not making me happy.”
The restrictions also apply to those who have misappropriated Ukrainian assets or have asserted authority over parts of Ukraine without the approval of the Ukrainian government, a reference to officials in Crimea who claim that they have broken free of Ukraine and who are seeking Russian protection. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said in a statement announcing the sanctions that the measure was particularly significant because the ban would apply to Russian as well as Ukrainian citizens who are “responsible for or complicit in threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
The new restrictions expand the visa bans that had already been imposed on those considered responsible for human rights abuses and political oppression in Ukraine in recent months, particularly in February when dozens of anti-government protesters in the capital were killed by forces loyal to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the pro-Kremlin president who then fled for Russia. The interim government that took over is regarded by Russia as illegitimate.
In addition to the new restrictions, President Obama also issued an executive order that provides the legal basis for imposing additional sanctions on “individuals and entities” who have undermined Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The restrictions also apply to those who have misappropriated Ukrainian assets or have asserted authority over parts of Ukraine without the approval of the Ukrainian government, a reference to officials in Ukraine’s Russian-populated Crimea Peninsula who claim that they have broken free of Ukraine and who are seeking Russian protection.
The sanctions under the executive order could include freezing assets or preventing Americans from doing business with certain individuals.The sanctions under the executive order could include freezing assets or preventing Americans from doing business with certain individuals.
The executive order “is a flexible tool that will allow us to sanction those who are most directly involved in destabilizing Ukraine, including the military intervention in Crimea,” the White House statement said, adding that it “does not preclude further steps should the situation deteriorate.”The executive order “is a flexible tool that will allow us to sanction those who are most directly involved in destabilizing Ukraine, including the military intervention in Crimea,” the White House statement said, adding that it “does not preclude further steps should the situation deteriorate.”
The moves come as Secretary of State John Kerry is continuing consultations in Rome on the crisis in Ukraine, on the margins of a conference about how to support the Libyan government. Mr. Kerry spoke Thursday with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, for their second meeting in two days. Mr. Kerry also met with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain. Mr. Kerry’s discussions with Mr. Lavrov, a continuation of discussions in Paris on Wednesday, were held on the margins of a Rome conference about how to support the Libyan government. Mr. Kerry also met with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Italy and Britain.
Senior officials declined to say how many people would be affected by the visa ban or who they might be, but they emphasized that some existing visas would be nullified. Although the executive order paves the way for additional sanctions, no foreign entities were sanctioned under the measure on Thursday morning, a senior official said. Senior officials declined to say how many people would be affected by the visa ban or who they might be, but they emphasized that some existing visas would be nullified. Although the executive order paves the way for additional sanctions, no foreign entities were sanctioned under the measure on Thursday, a senior official said.
A block on visas is the easiest step for the Obama administration to take because it can be imposed immediately and at the sole discretion of the government. But Washington cannot publicly disclose the names of those who are subject to the ban, which limits its effectiveness. People would only know that they had been barred if they applied for a visa to travel to the United States or, if they already had a visa, if they were told it had been revoked.A block on visas is the easiest step for the Obama administration to take because it can be imposed immediately and at the sole discretion of the government. But Washington cannot publicly disclose the names of those who are subject to the ban, which limits its effectiveness. People would only know that they had been barred if they applied for a visa to travel to the United States or, if they already had a visa, if they were told it had been revoked.
The executive order would permit the government to go further. It would allow Washington to issue new visa bans that would let targets be identified publicly, and it could authorize asset seizures. But officials cautioned that it would take time to develop such financial measures because, unlike with a visa ban, they have to have evidence that would hold up against a challenge in court.The executive order would permit the government to go further. It would allow Washington to issue new visa bans that would let targets be identified publicly, and it could authorize asset seizures. But officials cautioned that it would take time to develop such financial measures because, unlike with a visa ban, they have to have evidence that would hold up against a challenge in court.
The visa ban and the executive order are intended to punish Russia for its military intervention in Crimea and to discourage further military action in eastern Ukraine.The visa ban and the executive order are intended to punish Russia for its military intervention in Crimea and to discourage further military action in eastern Ukraine.
The United States’ European partners, who are considering their own sanctions, were informed about the move in advance. Officials said that the measures had been planned for a while and were not set off by plans for Crimea to hold a referendum on March 16 on joining Russia. The United States’ European partners, who were meeting in Brussels, were informed about the move in advance. Officials said that the measures had been planned for a while and were not set off by plans for Crimea to hold a referendum on March 16 on joining Russia.
The announcement, a senior official said, should prompt individuals in Russia and Crimea to wonder if they are going to find their name on a list.” The announcement, a senior official said, should prompt individuals in Russia and Crimea to wonder if they are going to “find their name on a list.”
There was no reaction from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia during the first hours after the White House statement was released.
Mr. Lavrov, meeting with journalists after conferring with Mr. Kerry, expressed irritation and said he had been assured that the United States had no list of officials who would be targeted by the sanctions.
“I drew the Secretary of State’s attention to the fact that the incessant fanning up of the atmosphere continues, there are some secret lists of Russian citizens who will be forbidden entry to the United States,” he said. “He assured me that these lists do not exist. There is only an instruction, but this does not change things, it is still a threat.”
Mr. Lavrov also expressed regret about the suspension of activities in the so-called Group of 8 leading industrialized nations, of which Russia is a member, as well as the NATO-Russian Council.
“There are many one-sided, half-hysterical evaluations in the media,” he said. “I repeated this to John Kerry, who seems to understand that it doesn’t really help the flow of normal work. It’s impossible to work honestly under the threat of ultimatums and sanctions.”
Russian business and finance circles have been nervous since Monday, unsure of what steps the United States and European Union might take, said Igor Y. Yurgens, a former Kremlin adviser who now heads the Institute of Contemporary Development, a Moscow research organization. He said the text in the White House statement was so broad that it was unlikely to directly impact most major Russian businesses.
“It’s more of a political signal than a serious economic tool,” he said. “It doesn’t say, for example, that certain Russian state and private banks will be punished by a 30 percent increase on the political risk margin, or that exports of some products will be banned, or that there will be no technology transfer.”
He said there was less at stake in the trade relationship with the United States, which amounts to $40 billion a year, and that many were braced for a European Union meeting scheduled for Friday, where member states may formulate their own sanctions. “Then it’s $600 billion, and that’s existential,” he said.