Vonte3000
Chance 3 :wow: :blessed:
Donetsk, Ukraine (CNN) -- The United States and European Union officials agreed Tuesday to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia as fighting escalated in Ukraine.
"If Russia continues on its current path, the cost on Russia will continue to grow," U.S. President Barack Obama said from the south lawn of the White House, "and today is a reminder that the United States means what it says. We will rally the international community in standing up for the rights and freedom of people around the world."
Some of the new EU sanctions target eight "cronies" of Russian President Vladimir Putin and three "entities" by limiting their access to EU capital markets, an EU official said on condition of anonymity. The people and entities will be named Wednesday, the official said.
Among the new sanctions announced by Washington: Three Moscow-based banks -- Bank of Moscow; Russian Agricultural Bank; and VTB Bank OAO -- will not be able to get new medium- and long-term financing in the United States, the U.S. Treasury Department said.
The sanctions are not part of a new Cold War, Obama said.
"What it is, is a very specific issue-related to Russia's unwillingness to recognize that Ukraine can chart its own path," Obama said, referring to the sanctions.
The EU sanctions also will block new arms contracts between Europe and Russia, prohibit the export of European goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, and limit the export of energy-related equipment, the EU said in a prepared statement Tuesday evening.
The move adds to sanctions that Europe and the United States already had in place against Russia over its disputed annexation of Crimea and its support of pro-Russian rebels fighting the Ukrainian government.
"It is meant as a strong warning: Illegal annexation of territory and deliberate destabilization of a neighboring sovereign country cannot be accepted in 21st century Europe," the European Council's statement reads.
Obama said Russia could choose a different path.
"It didn't have to come to this. It does not have to be this way," Obama said. "This is a choice that Russia and President (Vladimir) Putin in particular has made. ... The path for a peaceful resolution to this crisis involves recognizing the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the independence of the Ukrainian people."
The violence has prevented investigators from getting to the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
