Russia says will take measures after U.S. increased sanctions

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Kremlin has said it will take "adequate measures" after the U.S. increased sanctions on Russian individuals and companies because of the 2014 annexation of Crimea, BBC News reports.

As well as six bank officials, the U.S. has targeted Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man known as the Kremlin's caterer, who has close links to the defence ministry.

The U.S. Treasury said the action underscored its refusal to recognise the annexation.

The EU has prolonged its sanctions too.

When Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, the U.S. and EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on individuals and companies linked to Russia's ruling elite and added further names in the following months.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not specify what new measures would be taken by Russia, which imposed a food import ban on European countries in retaliation in 2014.

"We can only once again express regret and misunderstanding over this destructive persistence of our U.S. colleagues," Peskov said on Wednesday, December 21. "We believe this damages bilateral relations."

Hours earlier, the U.S. Treasury said it would target six executives at Bank Rossiya and its affiliates ABR Management and Sobinbank. One of them is Kirill Kovalchuk, nephew of Bank Rossiya's biggest shareholder, Yuri Kovalchuk, who is also known as the personal banker to President Vladimir Putin.

Several construction and transport companies linked by the Treasury to Crimea are also included.

What is not clear is whether U.S. sanctions on Russia will continue for much longer when Donald Trump becomes president.

When asked if sanctions would stay in place, Reince Priebus, chosen by the president-elect as has White House chief of staff, said this month that "as far as where that product goes next, you have to just wait and see".

Unlike the U.S. , the European Union has not added further names to its list.

Although EU leaders did agreed that sanctions should be extended for another six months, some member states, including Italy and Slovakia, are keen to have the measures eased.