Biden to announce fresh anti-Russia sanctions in Brussels: WH
The United States is seeking to impose more sanctions on Russia in light of its operation in Ukraine, and they could be announced in Brussels during a NATO summit.
US President Joe Biden is planning to announce a fresh round of sanctions against Russia in Brussels on Thursday, where he will be visiting for meetings with NATO and European allies, a top national security aide said Tuesday.
Biden, who will take part in a special meeting of NATO and address the European Council summit, is expected to outline efforts to enforce the sanctions the US and its allies had already imposed on Russia.
"He will join our partners in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening the existing sanctions to crack down on evasion and to ensure robust enforcement," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan revealed.
In light of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Sullivan highlighted that more help would be coming with announcements by Biden "on longer-term adjustments to NATO force posture on the eastern flank."
Despite imposing hefty sanctions on Russia and providing lethal arms to Ukraine, the US and NATO are determined to avoid any escalation on behalf of Kiev that risks a broader war with Russia.
Biden will also "announce joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas," Sullivan declared.
Russia launched a special military operation for several reasons, including NATO's eastward expansion. Other reasons were the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
In response, the US and its allies have rolled out comprehensive sanctions, including restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.