Courtesy of Mish.
Today, the US imposed more meaningless sanctions on Russia. Of course Russia responded in kind.
In Europe, where far more is to be lost than gained from sanctions, bickering amongst suggests no meaningful escalations in sanctions.
Here is a roundup of recent actions, counteractions, threats and counter-threats.
Meaningless Additional US Sanctions
The Financial Times reports US imposes sanctions on 20 more Russians.
The US has announced sanctions on 20 more senior Russian individuals over Moscow’s takeover of Crimea and also singled out a bank which does business with the targeted individuals.
Moscow responded by banning nine American officials from entry to Russia.
Barack Obama, in a statement at the White House, said the US was moving “to impose additional costs” on Moscow by sanctioning more senior Russian officials and “other individuals with substantial resources and influence who provide material support to the Russian leadership.”
He said he had also signed an executive order giving the US the authority to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy.
Americans banned from Russia include House Speaker John Boehner and senators John McCain and Harry Reid. Michael Steel, Mr Boehner’s spokesman, said: “The speaker is proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin’s aggression.”
Obama’s Bluff Will Be Called
Should Obama actually be dumb enough to impose sanctions on “key sectors of the Russian economy” Russia will respond with punishing sanctions on US interests as well as shutting off natural gas to Europe.
Putin clearly has the upper hand. I suspect European leaders are already relaying this message to Obama “Don’t do anything stupid”. …
