Canada, U.S. target senior officials
Russian, Ukrainian reps face sanctions
Canada and the United States imposed financial and travel sanctions on senior Russian government officials Monday in response to Sunday’s vote in Crimea to secede from Ukraine.
The referendum is widely seen as having been orchestrated by Russia. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama have called the referendum illegitimate and conducted under illegal Russian military occupation.
The federal government put economic sanctions and travel restrictions on senior people in Russia and Ukraine, and in Crimea specifically.
The Russian individuals include Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Sergey Glazyev, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Putin aide Vladislav Surkov.
The Ukrainians include Sergei Aksyonov, the prime minister of Crimea, and Volodymyr Konstantynov, chairman of the Crimean parliament.
The American sanctions target seven government officials including Rogozin and two close aides to Putin. They stop short of Putin himself.
“It’s my strong belief we must keep the pressure on and we must continue to maintain sanctions and maintain putting in place strong steps to dissuade this behaviour,” Harper said.
“What the Putin regime has done cannot be tolerated and can never be accepted.”
The prime minister said the sanctions are aimed at isolating Russia.
“The individuals targeted are responsible for undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and for facilitating Russian military action against Ukraine,” Harper said.
A senior White House official said there is “some concrete evidence” that Sunday’s referendum ballots arrived in Crimea “pre-marked” and that 123 per cent of the Sevastopol population would have voted “yes” given the announced numbers.
Obama said Monday that “if Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions.”
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden will consult with NATO allies Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this week.
Obama said he intends to travel to Europe next week for further consultations.
Harper flies to Kyiv on Friday to show his support for the temporary government of Ukraine.