New U.S. sanctions hit Russian energy barons, but not their companies

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration sought to tighten the noose on the Russian economy Monday, imposing new economic sanctions against 17 companies and seven associates of President Vladimir Putin for Russia's failure to keep promises made in Ukraine peace talks.

President Obama announced the new asset freezes and visa bans against rich or politically connected members of Putin's inner circle at a news conference in Manila, Philippines, where he was completing a four-nation tour of Asia. He said the sanctions were intended to chastise Russia for not matching U.S. and European efforts to ease tensions in Ukraine under an April 17 agreement reached in Geneva.

"We have not seen comparable efforts by the Russians, and as a consequence, we are going to be moving forward with an expanded list of individuals and companies that will be affected by sanctions," Obama said. "They remain targeted. We will also focus on some areas of high-tech defense exports to Russia that we don't think are appropriate to be exporting in this kind of climate."

While the new sanctions don't target Russia's energy sector - Obama said that step would be taken if Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine - they take aim at individuals whose wealth comes largely from Russia's vast oil and natural gas industry. The reluctance to impose broad sanctions on Russian sales of oil and natural gas reflects concerns that such a step would cripple Europe's economic recovery - the European Union is deeply dependent on Russian energy - and likely drive up global oil prices, which would hurt U.S. consumers and slow the U.S. economy ahead of hotly contested midterm elections in November.

The sanctions also don't target Putin. "The goal here is not to go after Mr. Putin, personally," Obama said. "The goal is to change his calculus with how the current actions he's engaging in in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy."

"It seems to me a pretty modest step," said Michael Singh, a former senior national security adviser in the Bush administration, who thinks the administration's approach has emboldened rather than punished Putin. "You have to be willing to show that you are ultimately willing to incur a cost to deter Russia."

Under the sanctions, seven individuals will have their U.S. assets frozen and will be prohibited from traveling to the United States. Seventeen companies also will have their assets frozen. In a new wrinkle, the administration imposed requirements for the sales of high-tech equipment to 13 of the 17 newly sanctioned companies. These licensing efforts will begin with the "presumption of denial" to prevent Russian companies from buying anything that "could contribute to Russia's military capabilities." Already existing licenses for the sale of such equipment will be canceled, the White House said.

The most prominent individual blacklisted under the sanctions is Igor Sechin, the head of energy giant Rosneft, Russia's leading petroleum company. Rosneft has tentacles across global oil markets, including several joint ventures with Texas-based Exxon Mobil. The sanctions would freeze any assets held in the United States by Sechin, a former deputy prime minister and former chief of staff to Putin. Rosneft's assets would remain unaffected.

Monday's sanctions also target Sergei Chemezov, a close Putin friend, ally and longtime head of the Russian state-owned company charged with developing, manufacturing and exporting high-tech industrial products. The sanctions target Chemezov personally but not his company, known by the acronym Rostec.

Another important target Monday was Yevgeny Murov, an elderly and influential army general who heads the Russian federal protective services unit.