WASHINGTON/LONDON/MOSCOW– The United States and its allies have prepared a list of Russian elites in or near President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle to punish with sanctions if Russia sends troops into Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
Britain urged Putin to “step back from the brink” after the Russian buildup of troops near Ukraine stoked fears of war, and warned any incursion would trigger sanctions against companies and people close to the Kremlin.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said planned legislation will give London new powers to target companies linked to the Russian state, as well as to freeze individuals’ assets and deny them entry to Britain.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the British warning “very disturbing”, saying it made Britain less attractive to investors and would hurt British companies.
“It’s not often you see or hear such direct threats to attack business,” he said. “An attack by a given country on Russian business implies retaliatory measures, and these measures will be formulated based on our interests if necessary.”
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, London has become the haven of choice for a river of money from Russia and other former Soviet republics. Transparency advocates have long called on Britain to be tougher about illicit financial flows.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to speak to Putin by telephone late on Monday or early Tuesday and travel to Ukraine on Tuesday.
“What I will say to President Putin, as I’ve said before, is that I think we really all need to step back from the brink, and I think Russia needs to step back from the brink,” Johnson told reporters.
SOURCE: REUTERS
