biden-2
WASHINGTON (77 WABC) — The Biden administration has plenty of options to make good on its pledge to hit Russia financially if President Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine, from sanctions targeting Putin’s associates to cutting Russia off from the financial system that sends money flowing around the world.
The United States and European allies have made no public mention of any plans to respond militarily themselves if Putin sends troops massed along the border into Ukraine, a former Soviet republic with close historical and cultural ties to Russia but now eager to ally with NATO and the West.
Instead, payback could be all about the money.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week promised financial pain — “high impact economic measures that we’ve refrained from taking in the past.” President Joe Biden on Friday said the U.S. had developed the “most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for Mr. Putin.”
—Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
