Ukrainian APC melepaskan tembakkan terbuka pada Krew agensi video RT berhampiran Kramatorsk . . .

ADtv - Wartawan video Ruptly RT datang di bawah tembakan sebagai kereta mereka disasarkan berhampiran bandar Kramatorsk, di timur Ukraine. Tembakan itu datang daripada 2 buah APC, kata krew.

Menurut pengeluar Ruptly ini, wartawan pun dalam perjalanan ke bandar Dmitrovka, beberapa 30 kilometer dari Slavyansk. Kerana kira-kira mereka 10 kilometer dari destinasi terakhir, Kiev APC "datang entah dari mana" dan "melepaskan tembakan tanpa alasan yang jelas."

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Krew yang lain TV rangkaian Rusia, Channel 5, juga di dalam kereta yang sama. Bernasib baik, peluru tidak terkena kenderaan itu, pasukan Ruptly berkata.

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Jadi, selepas pemeriksaan, kereta kami tidak terkena peluru. Ia mendapat dipecahkan kerana giliran cepat keluar jalan ketika mereka telah menembak.

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Baru saja 2 hari yang lalu, pejuang Kiev melepaskan tembakan ke atas wartawan daripada saluran LifeNews Rusia di kawasan yang sama.

"Kami memandu di dalam kereta dengan pelekat 'TV ', menunjukkan status akhbar kami. Pertama terdapat satu pukulan dan kemudian tembakan mesingan," wartawan Oleg Sidyakin memberitahu RT pada masa itu.

Menembak yang melibatkan krew Ruptly datang kurang daripada seminggu selepas video wartawan lain agensi RT ini, Fyodor Zavaleykov, 23, telah ditembak di bandar di Mariupol.

Pada 9 Mei, Zavaleykov telah penggambaran serangan bersenjata oleh tentera Kiev di Ibu Pejabat Polis tempatan, apabila peluru mengenanya melalui terletak hak ini. Mengalami kecederaan perut yang serius, wartawan itu dirawat di Ukraine dan diangkut ke Moscow untuk rawatan lanjut pada hari Isnin.

Katica Djurovic @zoontangmarg Still hot . . .

Ukrainian APCs open fire at RT's video agency 

crew near Kramatorsk . . .

RT's Ruptly video journalists came under fire as their car was targeted near the city of Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine. The shooting came from two APCs, the crew said.

According to Ruptly’s producer, the journalists were en route to the town of Dmitrovka, some 30 kilometers from Slavyansk. As they were about 10 kilometers from their final destination, Kiev’s APCs “came out of nowhere” and “opened fire for no apparent reason.”

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A crew of another Russian TV network, Channel 5, was also in the same car. Lucky, the bullets did not hit the vehicle, Ruptly's team said.

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So after inspection, our car wasn't hit by bullet. It got broken due to fast turn off the road when they were shooting.

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Just two days ago, Kiev fighters opened fire on journalists from the Russian channel LifeNews in the same area.

“We were driving in a car with 'TV' stickers, indicating our press status. First there was one shot and then machine gun fire,” reporter Oleg Sidyakin told RT at the time.

The shooting involving the Ruptly crew comes less than a week after another RT agency's video journalist, Fyodor Zavaleykov, 23, was shot in the city in Mariupol.

On May 9, Zavaleykov was filming an armed assault by Kiev’s army on the local Police HQ, when a bullet hit him through the vest. Suffering a serious abdominal injury, the journalist was treated in Ukraine and transported to Moscow for further treatment on Monday.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/eiktgg

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Amerika Syarikat berkata ia akan menambah bantuan kepada pemberontak Syria . . .

ADtv - Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat John Kerry telah berkata bahawa Amerika Syarikat dan sekutu-sekutunya akan memperluaskan sokongan mereka kepada pembang-kang Syria. Comments Kerry datang selepas umum Amerika Syarikat berkata pemberontak Syria tidak mempunyai cara untuk mengalahkan Presiden Assad.

Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat John Kerry yang memenuhi British kementerian Luar William Hague di London berkata Amerika Syarikat dan sekutu-sekutunya telah bersetuju untuk meningkatkan sokongan mereka kepada pembangkang Syria tetapi tidak menya-takan yang dimaksudkan menyiapkan mereka.

Kerry berkata beliau terbuka untuk meningkatkan bantuan kepada Syria tetapi berkata bahawa tiada keputusan telah dibuat untuk mengubah strategi bantuan Amerika Syarikat umum ke Syria.

Pemberontak Syria tidak mempunyai kuasa mampu memegang kerajaan untuk mentadbir bantuan dan menentang serangan gaji rejim Assad semasa, Jeneral Martin Dempsey, pengerusi Ketua Turus Bersama, memberitahu Majlis Atlantik, pemikir dalam bidang hal ehwal antarabangsa, Washington, DC.

"Mereka perlu kuasa yang mereka ada sekarang, yang cuba untuk melindungi kampung-kampung tempatan dan cuba untuk mengganggu rejim dan taraf yang sama. Mereka memerlukan sesuatu yang akhirnya akan dapat bertahan," katanya.

Beliau menambah bahawa militan yang sedang berjuang rejim Assad tidak mempunyai apa-apa "keupayaan ‘counterterrorism" untuk menghapuskan kumpulan-kumpulan Al-Qaeda di negara yang dilanda krisis ini.

"Dan kita tidak di atas jalan pada masa ini untuk memperuntukkan," katanya.

Menurut Dempsey, jika pemberontak menggulingkan Presiden Syria, negara akan masih berada dalam krisis.

"Jika Assad mengambil keluarga dan semua para penyokong beliau berlalu Syria hari ini, bagaimana negara itu . . . menyuarakan sendiri? " soal beliau.

Dempsey, bersama-sama dengan pemimpin kanan tentera Amerika Syarikat termasuk Ketua Turus Tentera Amerika Syarikat Ketua Raymond T. Odierno, ketika cuba untuk menyediakan pilihan ketenteraan di Syria untuk Presiden Barack Obama, telah secara terbuka mempersoalkan penghantaran tentera Amerika Syarikat di negara konflik selepas pemberontak menggulingkan Assad.

"Saya pernah mendengar ia digambarkan sebagai satu rangkaian konflik. Anda mem-punyai konflik yang wujud; maka akan ada konflik yg ke-2, yang jenisnya konflik dalaman; dan kemudian akan ada konflik yg ke-3 terhadap pertubuhan-pertubuhan pengganas yang semakin meningkat," katanya. "Itu mungkin betul."

Sementara itu, Amerika Syarikat masih terus menyediakan bantuan untuk pemberontak Syria. Pada 5 Mei, pihak berkuasa Amerika Syarikat tawaran $ 27 juta dalam bantuan tambahan untuk pemberontak. Juga pejabat Pembangkang Majlis Syria di Amerika Syarikat tidak lama lagi akan menjadi misi diplomatik rasmi.

Pentadbiran Obama berulang kali berkata konflik di Syria hanya boleh diselesaikan jika Assad mengundurkan diri sebagai presiden. Pada bulan Mei seorang pegawai pentadbiran kanan Amerika Syarikat mengecam pilihan raya yang akan datang Jun, di mana Assad juga akan mengambil bahagian, sebagai "parodi demokrasi."

Menurut Mark Seibel, ketua wartawan, akhbar McClatchy, Amerika Syarikat hanya menda-lamkan keadaan krisis di Syria.

"Tidak ada penyelesaian ketenteraan namun setiap langkah yang kita [Amerika Syarikat] mengambil adalah satu langkah tentera dan begitu jelas apa yang kita telah menubuhkan konflik jangka yang lebih lama, konflik yang banyak," katanya kepada RT.

Brian Becker, pengarah Gabungan Jawapan, memberitahu RT bahawa politik pentadbiran Obama terhadap Syria hanya memburukkan keadaan di negara ini.

"Bantahan bersenjata tidak menang di medan perang dan . . . tidak mempunyai asas popular sokongan yang perlu untuk menggulingkan kerajaan Assad," katanya.

Syria telah menjunam ke dalam perang saudara pada tahun 2011 apabila kebangkitan aman terhadap Assad turun ke keganasan. Lebih daripada 150,000 orang terbunuh dan berjuta-juta lagi pelarian dalam tempoh 3 tahun sejak mula berperang. 

Masyarakat antarabangsa mencapai kemajuan yang ketara pada tahun 2013, apabila Amerika Syarikat dan Rusia bersetuju bahawa Syria harus memusnahkan simpanan kimia berikutan serangan di Damsyik pada 21 Ogos 2013.

Pertubuhan bagi Larangan pasukan petugas Senjata Kimia - PBB disahkan pada Mei bahawa sekurang-kurangnya 92 % peratus daripada stok penimbal senjata itu telah dike-luarkan dari negara yang dilanda perang itu.

Rundingan menghampiri akhir minggu yg ke-2 tanpa tanda kemajuan.

Pada bulan Januari, Rusia dan Amerika Syarikat telah menganjurkan Geneva 2 rundingan damai antara kerajaan Assad dan pembangkang Syria. Walau bagaimanapun, selepas 2 pusingan perundingan, tiada perjanjian dapat dicapai.

Tiada tarikh belum ditetapkan untuk pusingan yg ke-3 rundingan, di mana kerajaan Syria dan pembangkang dalam buangan telah bersetuju untuk membincangkan meletakkan menamatkan keganasan, memerangi keganasan, dan pembentukan badan kerajaan pera-lihan.

Setiausaha Negara Amerika Syarikat John Kerry yang memenuhi British Minster Luar William Hague di London berkata bahawa dia telah melihat data yang mencadangkan tentera Syria telah menggunakan gas klorin terhadap rakyatnya sendiri, walaupun beliau menegaskan bahawa data itu belum lagi disahkan.

"Saya telah melihat data mentah yang mencadangkan, yang mungkin telah, Perancis sebagai cadangkan, beberapa contoh di mana klorin telah digunakan dalam menjalankan perang," kata Kerry.

Beliau juga berkata bahawa Amerika Syarikat dan sekutu-sekutunya telah bersetuju untuk meningkatkan sokongan mereka kepada pembangkang Syria tetapi tidak menyatakan jika yang dimaksudkan menyiapkannya.

Kerry berkata beliau terbuka untuk meningkatkan bantuan kepada Syria tetapi berkata bahawa tiada keputusan telah dibuat untuk mengubah strategi bantuan Amerika Syarikat umum ke Syria.

US says it will increase aid to Syrian rebels

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the US and its allies will expand their support to the Syrian opposition. Kerry’s comments come after a US general said the Syrian rebels do not have the means to defeat President Assad.

US Secretary of State John Kerry who was meeting British Foreign Minster William Hague in London said the US and its allies had agreed to increase their support to the Syrian opposition but did not specify if he meant arming them.

Kerry said he was open to increasing aid to Syria but said that no decision has been made on changing the general US aid strategy to Syria.

Syrian rebels have no force capable of holding government to administer aid and wage attacks against the current Assad regime, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Atlantic Council, a think tank in the field of international affairs, in Washington, DC.

“They need the force they have now, which is trying to protect local villages and try to harass the regime and level the playing field. They need something that eventually will be able to hold ground,” he said.

He added that the militants who are currently fighting the Assad regime don’t have any “counterterrorism capability” to completely eliminate the Al-Qaeda -linked groups in the crisis-torn country.

"And we're not on a path currently to provide that," he added.

According to Dempsey, if rebels oust Syrian president, the country would still be in crisis.

"If Assad took his family and all of his cronies and departed Syria today, how does that country ... articulate itself?" he asked.

Dempsey, along with senior US military leaders including Chief of Staff of the US Army General Raymond T. Odierno, while trying to prepare military options in Syria for President Barack Obama, have publicly questioned the deployment of US troops in the conflict country after the insurgents oust Assad.

“I’ve heard it described as a succession of conflicts. You have the conflict that currently exists; then there’ll be the second conflict, which is kind of an internal conflict; and then there’ll be the third conflict against the terrorist organizations that are growing,” he said. “That’s probably right.”

Meanwhile, the US still continues to provide help for the Syrian insurgents. On May 5, US authorities offered $27 million in additional help for the rebels. Also the Syrian Opposition Council’s offices in the US will soon become formal diplomatic missions.

Obama administration repeatedly said conflict in Syria can only be solved if Assad steps down as president. In May a senior US administration official denounced the upcoming June elections, where Assad will also take part, as "a parody of democracy.”

According to Mark Seibel, chief of correspondents, McClatchy newspapers, US are only deepening the crisis situation in Syria.

“There can be no military solution and yet every step that we [US] are taking is a military step and so obviously what we were setting up is a longer term conflict, more conflict,” he told RT.

Brian Becker, director of the Answer Coalition, told RT that politics of the Obama administration towards Syria only worsened the situation in the country.

“Armed opposition isn’t winning on the battlefield and . . . doesn’t have a popular base of support necessary to oust the Assad government,” he added.

Syria was plunged into civil war in 2011 when peaceful uprisings against Assad descended into violence. More than 150,000 people have been killed and millions more have been displaced in the three years since fighting began. The international community made significant progress in 2013, when the US and Russia agreed that Syria should destroy its chemical stockpile following an attack in Damascus on August 21, 2013.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN task force confirmed in May that at least 92 percent of the weapons stockpile had been removed from the war-torn nation.

The negotiations neared the end of a second week with no sign of progress.

In January, Russia and the US organized the Geneva 2 peace talks between Assad’s government and the Syrian opposition. However, after two rounds of negotiations, no agreement was reached. No date has been yet set for the third round of negotiations, during which the Syrian government and the opposition-in-exile have agreed to discuss putting an end to violence, fighting terrorism, and the formation of a transitional government body.

US Secretary of State John Kerry who was meeting British Foreign Minster William Hague in London said that he has seen data that suggests the Syrian army has used chlorine gas against its own people, although he stressed that the data hasn’t yet been verified.

“I have seen the raw data that suggests, that there may have been, as France suggested, a number of instances in which chlorine has been used in the conduct of war,” said Kerry.

He also said that the US and its allies had agreed to increase their support to the Syrian opposition but did not specify if he meant arming them.

Kerry said he was open to increasing aid to Syria but said that no decision has been made on changing the general US aid strategy to Syria.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/do13p6

ERA minyak baru Amerika Syarikat? Washington fikir mengangkat 41-tahun eksport larangan . . .

ADtv - Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat mempertimbangkan melakukan jauh dengan undang-undang 4 dekad - lama yang mengharamkan penjualan dan eksport minyak Amerika di luar negara. Keputusan berikut membunuh peperangan yang diketuai strategik dan sekatan di Timur Tengah yang telah menaikkan harga minyak dan permintaan.

Peralihan polisi datang pada tumit daripada krisis di Ukraine, seperti Amerika Syarikat boleh mengambil kesempatan daripada peluang untuk mengganggu eksport minyak Rusia ke Eropah.

Amerika Syarikat menghasilkan 10 % peratus bekalan minyak mentah global, tetapi eksport tepat sifar tong kerana pengharaman Kongres ditetapkan sebagai reaksi kepada 1973 Embargo Minyak Arab.

Washington adalah serius mempertimbangkan perubahan undang-undang persekutuan untuk membenarkan aliran minyak di luar negara, menurut Jabatan Tenaga Amerika Syarikat Setiausaha Ernest Moniz.

"Isu eksport minyak mentah adalah di bawah pertimbangan . . . Seorang pemandu untuk pertimbangan ini ialah sifat minyak yang kita menghasilkan bukan boleh juga dipadankan dengan kapasiti penapisan semasa kami," Moniz berkata pada hari Selasa pada akhir persidangan tenaga di Seoul, seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Wall Street Journal.

Banyak Demokrat di Kongres menentang idea, sebagai ahli parlimen percaya kekayaan minyak baru ditemui perlu disimpan di dalam Amerika Syarikat untuk mengekalkan harga tenaga dalam negeri rendah.

Idea ini sedang diapungkan kerana lebihan bekalan besar, terhasil hasil daripada tekno-logi hidraulik - keretakan, juga dikenali sebagai ‘fracking’, yang telah meningkatkan kapasiti pengeluaran minyak dan gas di negara ini.

Agensi Tenaga Antarabangsa meramalkan Amerika Syarikat akan menjadi pengeluar minyak terbesar di dunia menjelang tahun 2020, dan boleh menjadi tenaga bebas oleh 2037 (energy-independent by 2037).

Amerika Syarikat telah menggunakan perang dan revolusi sebagai alat untuk meng-hancurkan persaingan menghasilkan minyak mereka, meninggalkan negara-negara peng-eksport minyak seperti Iraq, Venezuela, Iran dan Libya dalam kedudukan yang merugikan ketika datang untuk membangunkan potensi industri minyak mereka.

"Kenaikan dalam pengeluaran minyak dan tenaga Amerika Syarikat dapat dilakukan oleh pelaburan besar dalam ‘fracking’, dan yang dilakukan oleh harga yang tinggi, minyak yang diperolehi sejak Amerika Syarikat menyerang Iraq dan memusnahkan industri minyak milik negara itu," William Dores , politik penganalisis di Pusat Tindakan Antarabangsa New - York, memberitahu RT.

"Perang di Timur Tengah, sama ada kemusnahan Iraq, pengeboman Libya, sekatan ke atas Iran . . . telah berkhidmat untuk mengekalkan harga yang tinggi dan menyekat pengeluaran, yang telah memberikan Amerika Syarikat kelebihan yang besar," kata Dores.

6 daripada 10 negara-negara dari segi simpanan minyak tidak boleh mengeksport minyak mereka sepenuhnya, kerana sekatan atau campur tangan oleh Amerika Syarikat.

"Perang di Iraq adalah perkara terbaik yang pernah berlaku untuk ExxonMobil dan Chevron dan yang terbesar pengeluar minyak Amerika Syarikat. Ia mengambil masa 10 % peratus bekalan minyak dunia luar pasaran; kira-kira itulah yang sekatan di Iran," kata Dores.

Ia mengambil Iraq tahun-tahun untuk pulih daripada pukulan yang disampaikan oleh sekatan, pencerobohan kira-kira dan perang saudara yang berikutnya. Ia kini merupakan pengeluar yg ke-2 terbesar OPEC, setelah melepasi Iran.

Output Iraq hanya mula naik 4 tahun lalu selepas bekerjasama dengan syarikat-syarikat minyak besar seperti BP, ExxonMobil, dan Eni, yang mencari keuntungan walaupun cabaran keselamatan.

"Negara-negara ini tidak mendapat apa-apa faedah dari minyak ini, ia tidak seperti sesiapa sahaja melabur di jalan raya atau elektrik atau apa-apa lagi," Kajian Majalah Perisikan Eksekutif Lawrence Freeman memberitahu RT.

Pengeluaran minyak Libya menjunam daripada 1.4 juta tong sehari pada tahun 2011 kepada 150,000 tong sehari pada bulan Mac.

Libya mempunyai terbesar rizab minyak terbukti di Afrika, tetapi konflik telah tergelincir keupayaan pengeluaran minyaknya. Syarikat-syarikat tenaga antarabangsa beroperasi di sana berharap pengeluaran akan meningkat.

Pengeluaran minyak Syria adalah di tempat pertumpahan darah kerana perang saudara; dalam 3 tahun kebelakangan ini ia telah turun daripada 400,000 tong kepada 25,000 tong belanja harian.

"Saya rasa kemusnahan politik dan ekonomi negara-negara ini pergi bersama-sama dengan peningkatan kawalan oleh syarikat-syarikat minyak," kata Freeman.

Amerika Syarikat kini mengimport minyak dari Kanada, Arab Saudi, Mexico, Venezuela, dan Iraq, serta Nigeria dan negara-negara Amerika Selatan yang lain.

Pada bulan April, pengeluaran minyak mentah di Amerika purata 8.3 juta tong sebulan dan import purata 9.6 juta tong. Import minyak mentah purata 15.9 juta tong sebulan pada 2 Mei.

Maklumat Tenaga Amerika Syarikat Pentadbiran meramalkan bahawa harga spot Brent minyak mentah akan menurun di seluruh 2014, jatuh dari harga setong semasa $ 108 untuk $ 103 pada suku ke-4.

New Oil Era in US? Washington mulls lifting 

41-yr Export ban . . .

The US government is considering doing away with a four-decade-old law that bans the sale and export of American oil abroad. The decision follows a slew of US-led strategic wars and sanctions in the Middle East that have raised oil prices and demand.

The policy shift comes on the heels of the crisis in Ukraine, as the US may be taking advantage of an opportunity to disrupt Russian oil exports to Europe. The US produces 10 percent of global crude oil supply, but exports precisely zero barrels because of a ban Congress set in reaction to the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo.

Washington is seriously considering changing federal laws to let oil flow abroad, according to US Energy Department Secretary Ernest Moniz.

“The issue of crude oil exports is under consideration . . . A driver for this consideration is that the nature of the oil we're producing may not be well matched to our current refinery capacity," Moniz said on Tuesday at the end of an energy conference in Seoul, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Many Democrats in Congress oppose the idea, as lawmakers believe newfound oil wealth should be kept inside the US to keep domestic energy prices low.

The idea is being floated because of a tremendous supply surplus, resulting resulted from hydraulic-fracturing technology, also known as fracking, which has increased the country’s oil and gas production capacity. The International Energy Agency predicts the US will become the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, and could be energy-independent by 2037.

The US has used war and revolutions as a tool to crush their oil producing competition, leaving oil exporting countries like Iraq, Venezuela, Iran and Libya in a disadvantageous position when it comes to developing their oil industry potential.

“The rise in US oil and energy production is made possible by major investment in fracking, and that is made possible by the high price of oil obtained since the US invaded Iraq and destroyed its state-owned oil industry,” William Dores, a political analyst at the New-York based International Action Center, told RT.

“War in the Middle East, whether it’s the destruction of Iraq, the bombing of Libya, the sanctions on Iran… have served to keep prices high and restrict production, which has given the US a big edge,” Dores said.

Six of the top ten nations in terms of proven oil reserves cannot export their oil in full, because of sanctions or intervention by the US.

“The war in Iraq is the best thing that ever happened for ExxonMobil and Chevron and the biggest US oil producers. It took 10 percent of the world’s oil supply off the market; that’s what the sanctions in Iran are about,” said Dores.

It took Iraq years to recover from the blow delivered by the sanctions, the US invasion and the subsequent civil war. It is now the second largest OPEC producer, having surpassed Iran.

Iraq’s output only began to rise four years ago after partnering with big oil companies such as BP, ExxonMobil, and Eni, which are looking to profit despite security challenges.

“These countries are not getting any benefit from this oil, it’s not like anyone is investing in roads or electricity or anything else,” Lawrence Freeman of the Executive Intelligence Review Magazine told RT.

Libya’s oil production plummeted from 1.4 million barrels a day in 2011 to 150,000 barrels a day in March.

Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, but conflict has derailed its oil production capabilities. Major international energy companies operating there hope production will pick up.

Syria’s oil production is in shambles due to civil war; in the last three years it has gone down from 400,000 barrels to 25,000 barrels per diem.

“I think the political and economic destruction of these countries goes together with an increase of control by these oil companies,” said Freeman.

The US currently imports its oil from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq, as well as Nigeria and other South American countries.

In April, crude oil production in America averaged 8.3 million barrels a month and imports averaged 9.6 million barrels. Crude oil imports averaged 15.9 million barrels a month as of May 2.

The US Energy Information Administration predicts that the spot price of Brent crude oil will decline throughout 2014, dropping from the current barrel price of $108 to $103 by the fourth quarter.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/c05rwq

OBAMA keluarkan SEKATAN Baru ke atas Rusia, Moscow berkata ia tidak akan menjejaskan . . .

ADtv - Pusingan baru sanksi Barat terhadap Rusia akan mensasarkan 7 individu dan 17 syarikat. Mereka adalah bertujuan untuk memberi kesan kepada pendirian Moscow terhadap krisis Ukraine yang sedang berjalan.

Individu-individu yang disenaraikan oleh Jabatan Perbendaharaan Amerika Syarikat pada hari Isnin termasuk Rusia Timbalan Perdana Menteri Dmitry Kozak, pengerusi suruhanjaya parlimen pada Luar Negeri, Aleksey Pushkov, ketua pejabat presiden, Vyacheslav Volodin, dan Igor Sechin, ketua syarikat minyak Rosneft.

Senarai syarikat yang dibenarkan, yang Washington dipercayainya "dikaitkan dengan golongan dalaman Putin," termasuk syarikat-syarikat beberapa bank, pembinaan dan pengangkutan.

Volga Group, satu instrumen pelaburan yang menguruskan aset bagi pihak ahli per-niagaan, Gennady Timchenko, dan SMP Bank, yang pemegang saham utamanya terjejas oleh set dahulu sekatan Amerika Syarikat, adalah antara mereka yang menghadapi langkah-langkah ketat.

Minyak dan gas syarikat kejuruteraan, Stroytransgaz, dan salah satu pengangkutan kereta api terbesar Rusia minyak, Transoil, juga di kalangan syarikat yang terjejas oleh sekatan.

Amerika Syarikat Jabatan Perdagangan telah memperkenalkan sekatan tambahan pada 13 syarikat-syarikat dengan mengenakan keperluan lesen dengan anggapan penafian untuk eksport, eksport semula atau pemindahan asing lain barangan Amerika Syarikat - yang berasal kepada syarikat-syarikat.

Kemudian pada hari itu, Washington mengumumkan dasar diperketatkan untuk mena-fikan permohonan lesen eksport bagi apa-apa barang-barang berteknologi tinggi yang boleh menyumbang kepada keupayaan tentera Rusia.

Tetapi Amerika Syarikat boleh bergerak lebih jauh dan mengenakan sekatan terhadap cawangan tertentu ekonomi Rusia jika Moscow bermula operasi ketenteraan di Ukraine, Jay Carney, jurucakap White House , berkata.

Pengumuman pusingan baru sekatan Amerika Syarikat terhadap Rusia adalah "membe-rontak" kerana mereka menentang cara negara-negara bertamadun perlu berkomunikasi, Sergey Ryabkov, Timbalan Menteri Luar Rusia, berkata.

"Kami akan bertindak balas, walaupun ia bukan pilihan kita," Ryabkov dipetik sebagai berkata oleh agensi berita Itar-Tass . "Tetapi kita tidak boleh meninggalkan keadaan ini tanpa reaksi, tanpa reaksi praktikal, tanpa reaksi melalui keputusan sendiri. Tingkah laku Amerika Syarikat di lapangan menjadi provokatif."

Menurut Timbalan FM, keputusan Amerika berpunca daripada "diputarbelitkan dan tidak berasas" andaian mengenai keadaan hal ehwal di Ukraine.

Obama berkata Amerika Syarikat dan sekutu-sekutunya akan memastikan sekatan yang lebih luas "dalam rizab" sekiranya berlaku peningkatan lagi di atas tanah di Ukraine. Beliau mengakui bahawa dia tidak pasti sama ada pusingan terbaru langkah akan ber-kesan.

"Matlamatnya adalah untuk tidak pergi selepas Encik Putin secara peribadi; matlamatnya adalah untuk menukar kalkulus, untuk menggalakkan dia untuk berjalan-jalan, bukan hanya bercakap ceramah tersebut "pada diplomasi untuk menyelesaikan krisis itu, Obama berkata di Manila semasa lawatan ke Asia.

Seperti Amerika Syarikat menolak untuk lebih sekatan terhadap Rusia, ahli-ahli EU telah bersetuju untuk awal juga mengenakan membeku aset dan larangan visa pada lebih 15 orang. Nama-nama mereka yang akan dimasukkan ke dalam senarai itu tidak akan didedahkan kepada umum sehingga mereka disiarkan dalam EU Rasmi Journal pada hari Selasa, Reuters melaporkan memetik sumber diplomat yang tidak dinamakan.

Walau bagaimanapun, Ramai orang Eropah menentang sekatan anti-Rusia, yang akan sasaran ekonomi yang bertentangan dengan individu yang rapat dengan kepimpinan Rusia, kerana sekatan ekonomi akan menjejaskan ekonomi Eropah dan juga yang di Rusia. Amerika Syarikat, terikat dari segi ekonomi dengan Rusia untuk tahap yang lebih rendah daripada Eropah, berkata ia tidak akan mengenakan sekatan ekonomi unilaterally.

"Saya akan terkejut jika semua negara-negara Eropah didapati pendirian bersama mengenai sekatan ekonomi," Thierry Mariani, ahli Dewan Negara Perancis, memberitahu RT. "Apabila satu negara berkata 'kita tidak bercakap mengenai kewangan . . . dan beberapa negara lain berkata  kita tidak bercakap mengenai tenaga,' maka kita tidak bercakap tentang apa-apa. Itulah sebabnya kita tiba malangnya [at] sekatan peribadi, yang benar-benar tidak masuk akal."

Kanada juga telah mengenakan sekatan ke atas 2 bank Rusia dan sembilan individu, Perdana Menteri Stephen Harper berkata dalam satu kenyataan mengumumkan langkah-langkah pada hari Isnin. Pejabat Harper tidak segera menyediakan nama-nama.

Kepimpinan Rusia setakat ini menolak terus ancaman sekatan sebagai tidak berkesan, dengan alasan mereka mungkin sebenarnya pelampung ekonomi Rusia pada jangka masa panjang.

"Kebergantungan boleh membawa kepada kehilangan kedaulatan," kata Presiden Rusia Vladimir Putin ‘Vladimir Putin said’ pada satu forum media di St Petersburg pada hari Khamis.

Sekatan Barat yang diterajui mempunyai beberapa kelebihan bagi Rusia, kata Putin.

Putin berkata ancaman sekatan ekonomi sebenar sudah mengukuhkan perniagaan domestik, membawa lebih banyak dana luar pesisir kembali ke Rusia, dan memberikan dasar menolak yang mereka perlukan untuk mewujudkan satu sistem pembayaran tem-patan.

Komen-Nya echo sentiments yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri Rusia Dmitry Medvedev minggu lepas, yang juga berhujah bahawa sekatan lanjut hanya akan membuat Rusia kuat.

"Terima kasih kepada sekatan Barat, Rusia telah diberi insentif untuk mengurangkan pergantungan terhadap ekonomi di luar dan sebaliknya serantau sedang lebih berdikari," kata Medvedev 22 April.

Medvedev berkata apa-apa sekatan ke atas barangan Rusia ke EU atau Amerika Syarikat akan bertindak untuk mengalihkan eksport Rusia ke pasaran Asia, yang lebih teguh.

Obama rolls out new sanctions on Russia, 

Moscow says it won't hurt

New round of Western sanction against Russia will target seven individuals and 17 companies. They are meant to affect Moscow’s stance over the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.

The individuals listed by the US Department of Treasury on Monday include Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, chair of the parliamentary commission on Foreign Affairs, Aleksey Pushkov, chief of presidential office, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft oil company.

The list of sanctioned companies, which Washington believes to be “linked to Putin’s inner circle,” includes several banks, construction and transport companies.

The Volga Group, an investment vehicle that manages assets on behalf of the businessman, Gennady Timchenko, and SMP Bank, whose main shareholders were affected by the previous set of US sanctions, are among those to face restrictive measures.

Oil and gas engineering company, Stroytransgaz, and one of Russia’s biggest rail trans-porters of oil, Transoil, are also among the companies affected by the sanctions.

The US Department of Commerce has introduced additional restrictions on 13 of those companies by imposing a license requirement with a presumption of denial for the export, re-export or other foreign transfer of US-originating items to the companies.

Later in the day, Washington announced a tightened policy to deny export license applications for any high-technology items that could contribute to Russia’s military capabilities.

But the US may move even further and impose sanctions against specific branches of the Russian economy if Moscow begins a military operation in Ukraine, Jay Carney, White House spokesman, said.

The announcement of a new round of US sanctions against Russia is “revolting” as they go against the way civilized states should communicate, Sergey Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said.

“We will respond, although it is not our choice,” Ryabkov is cited as saying by Itar-Tass news agency. “But we can’t leave this situation without reaction, without practical reaction, without reaction by means of our own decisions. US behavior in the field is becoming provocative.”

According to the deputy FM, the American decision stems from a “distorted and groundless” assumption on the state of affairs in Ukraine.

Obama said the US and its allies would keep broader sanctions “in reserve” in the event of further escalation on the ground in Ukraine. He admitted that he was uncertain whether the latest round of measures would be effective.

“The goal is not to go after Mr. Putin personally; the goal is to change his calculus, to encourage him to walk the walk, not just talk the talk" on diplomacy to resolve the crisis, Obama said in Manila during a trip to Asia.

As the US pushes for more sanctions against Russia, EU members have preliminary agreed to also impose asset freezes and visa bans on 15 more people. The names of those to be added to the list will not be made public until they are published in the EU's Official Journal on Tuesday, Reuters reported citing an unnamed diplomat source.

However, Many Europeans opposed anti-Russian sanctions, which would target the economy as opposed to individuals close to the Russian leadership, since economic sanctions would hurt European economies as well as that of Russia. The US, being economically tied with Russia to a much lesser degree than Europe, says it would not impose economic sanctions unilaterally.

“I would be very surprised if all European countries found a common position on economic sanctions,” Thierry Mariani, a member of the French National Assembly, told RT. “When one country says ‘we don’t speak about finance’. . . and some other country says ‘we don’t speak about energy,’ then we don’t speak about anything. That’s why we arrive unfortunately [at] personal sanctions, which are completely nonsense.”

Canada has also imposed sanctions on two Russian banks and nine individuals, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement announcing the measures on Monday. Harper's office did not immediately provide names.

The Russian leadership has thus far brushed off the threat of sanctions as ineffectual, arguing they might in fact buoy the Russian economy in the long term.

“Overreliance can lead to a loss of sovereignty,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a media forum in St Petersburg on Thursday.

Western-led sanctions have several advantages for Russia, Putin said.

Putin said the threat of real economic sanctions is already bolstering domestic businesses, bringing more offshore funds back to Russia, and giving policymakers the push they need to establish a domestic payment system.

His comments echo sentiments made by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last week, who similarly argued that further sanctions would only make Russia stronger.

“Thanks to Western sanctions, Russia has been given the incentive to reduce its dependence on outside and instead regional economies are being more self-sufficient," Medvedev said April 22.

Medvedev said any restrictions on Russian goods to the EU or US would serve to redirect Russian exports to Asian markets, which are more robust.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/0r6dts