The United Kingdom is developing a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia, it will be presented in the coming days, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Wednesday
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2022) The United Kingdom is developing a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia, it will be presented in the coming days, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Wednesday.
"We will be bringing forward new legislation to make our sanctions regime tougher, so we are able to target more companies and individuals in Russia. We will be bringing that forward in the next few days," Truss told the Sky news broadcaster.
Truss said on Monday in a televised appearance for UK broadcaster Sky News that London had prepared "a strong package" of economic sanctions against Russia, adding it is ready to use it in the event of further escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
"We're not ruling anything out," Truss said when asked if the UK would impose personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin as US President Joe Biden suggested earlier.
Furthermore, Truss confirmed the UK's support to Ukraine, including through supplying defensive weapons and economic assistance as well as through urging Russia "to desist from an incursion." She added that NATO is enhancing its military presence in the region, with the additional contingents dispatched in Estonia.
A protracted controversy over the accusations against Russia of amassing troops near the Ukrainian border in alleged preparation for invasion has been aggravated this week, with the US and its allies evacuating diplomatic personnel from Ukraine and NATO deploying additional troops at Russia border. The European Council concluded Monday that the notion of the "spheres of influence" in Europe was obsolete, threatening Moscow with "massive consequences and severe costs," in the event of the military aggression toward Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the claims, maintaining that it has no intention of invading Ukraine and stressing that it has the right to move forces within its own territory, while raising concern over increased NATO's military activity in Eastern Europe.
