WASHINGTON
\nUS officials have finalised new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace US President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to end its war on Ukraine, according to three US officials and a source familiar with the issue.
\nThe targets include state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom and major entities involved in the natural resources and banking sectors, said an administration official, who like the other sources requested anonymity to discuss the issue. The official provided no further details.
\nIt was far from clear, however, whether the package will be approved by Trump, whose sympathy for Moscow\u2019s statements and actions have given way to frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s spurning of his calls for a ceasefire and peace talks.
\nThe US National Security Council \u201cis trying to coordinate some set of more punitive actions against Russia,\u201d said the source familiar with the issue. \u201cThis will have to be signed off by Trump.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s totally his call,\u201d confirmed a second US official.
\n\u201cFrom the beginning, the president has been clear about his commitment to achieving a full and comprehensive ceasefire,\u201d said National Security Council Spokesman James Hewitt. \u201cWe do not comment on the details of ongoing negotiations.\u201d
\nThe US Treasury, which implements most US sanctions, did not respond to a request for comment. An approval by Trump of new sanctions, which would follow the Wednesday signing of a US.-Ukraine minerals deal that he heavily promoted as part of his peace effort, could signify a hardening of his stance towards the Kremlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON US officials have finalised new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace US President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to end its war on Ukraine, according to three US officials and a source familiar with the issue. The targets include state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom and major […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-476427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n