US says They won’t rule out sanctions against Putin

The administration of US President Barack Obama has indicated that it will not rule out direct economic sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We’re not going to rule out individuals or rule out actions, except to say that there will be additional costs imposed on Russia, if Russia does not change direction here when it comes to how it’s handling the situation in Ukraine,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney who was pressed repeatedly on why Putin’s name was not among those of Russian officials targeted by sanctions Obama ordered.

“I’m not going to get into a game of hinting or indicating who might be next,” Carney said on Monday after he stated that the US would “evaluate what the right step is as the situation evolved.”

On Monday, Obama issued an executive order that imposes sanctions on seven Russian officials and four Crimean and Ukrainian officials. Obama’s order freezes any assets of the officials which are in the US or “hereafter come within the United States.” It also bans the individuals from travelling to the US.

Among the Russian officials named in an annex to Obama’s order are Dmitry Rogozin, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Vladislav Surkov, a presidential aide to Putin, and Sergey Glazyev, a presidential adviser to Putin.

Meanwhile, Obama’s executive order stated clearly that besides those listed in the annex to the order, “persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State” who could be “an official of the Government of the Russian Federation” could also be targeted by the sanctions.

According to the Hill, Carney has indicated that sanctions could be imposed against Putin under the same executive order that Obama issued on Monday.

This comes as a number of US lawmakers have called for tougher sanctions against Russia.

“The crisis in Ukraine calls for a far more significant response from the United States,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) in a statement on Monday, one day after he referred to Russia as “a gas station” in an interview with CNN.

“I support the sanctions announced today, and I strongly urge the President to go further and consider a broader range of consequences,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) also said on Monday.

Meanwhile, Russian officials responded to Obama’s move, with Surkov saying it is a great honor for him to be placed on the US sanctions list.