Washington. January 31. INTERFAX - The United States has prepared sanctions against a number of individuals from the Russian elite in case of further steps by Russia to attack Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.
"I can confirm that we have developed certain packages of sanctions against the Russian elite and their families in case Russia takes further steps to invade Ukraine," Psaki said at a briefing on Monday.
According to her, these persons are from among those who "are in the Kremlin's inner circle and around it," or "participate in the government's decision-making process." Psaki added that the sanctions will also affect those who are "involved in the destabilizing behavior of the Kremlin."
As Psaki noted, some of the individuals targeted by sanctions are especially vulnerable to them because of "deep financial ties with the West."
In addition, the representative of the White House stressed that this reflects only part of the US efforts to take measures against Moscow.
Earlier on Monday, the Financial Times reported that the US administration has completed work on a list of people against whom sanctions will be imposed in the event of a Russian attack on Ukraine.
"Senior representatives of the US administration told the Financial Times that the US, in coordination with its allies, has prepared a list of people against whom sanctions can be imposed," the newspaper writes. According to him, we are talking about people who are more or less close to the Kremlin. "They play a role in decision-making by the authorities or, at least, are related to Russia's destabilizing actions," the newspaper notes.
The Financial Times clarifies that sanctions in the event of an attack on Ukraine are planned to be imposed not only personally against these people, but also against their family members. The interlocutors of the Financial Times noted that some people on the list may be particularly hard hit in the event of sanctions, "given their large-scale financial ties with the West."
The US authorities have chosen people against whom they can impose sanctions, using a list of influential Russian politicians and businessmen sent by the US Treasury to Congress back in 2018 under the CAATSA law.
At the same time, the prepared list can be expanded if necessary, the newspaper notes. "We are considering all possible options," the US administration said.
