WASHINGTON: The United States further tightened on Friday its sanctions on Russia, hoping to force Moscow to reconsider its involvement in Ukraine.

The European Union also imposed similar sanctions.

“We have designed the actions announced today to deliver significant pressure on the targets of our sanctions while safeguarding, to the extent possible, global financial markets and the global economy,” US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said.

Since March, when Russia annexed Crimea, the United States and EU have ratcheted up sanctions several times, tightening restrictions on major Russian state banks and corporations.

They have blacklisted dozens of senior Russian officials and Russian firms involved in strengthening Moscow’s influence in Ukraine.

Sanctions announced on Friday target Russia’s state finances, energy and arms sectors, managed by the powerful elite around President Vladimir Putin.

Separately, the US Treasury Department determined on Friday that persons operating within Russia’s defence and related materiel sector might now be subject to targeted sanctions.

The department also extended targeted financial sanctions to Russia’s largest bank, deepened existing sanctions on Russian financial institutions, expanded sanctions in Russia’s energy sector, and increased the number of sanctioned Russian entities in the energy and defence sectors.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2014