Following America, Australia Wants To Sanction Putin

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Australia is seeking to join other countries in imposing direct sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and extending the financial punitive measure to Russian lawmakers and more oligarchs, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Saturday, February 26.

The United States, Canada, the European Union and Britain have said they will impose sanctions on Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It is an extraordinary move to sanction leaders, but it is an extraordinary situation," Payne told a news conference, adding that the government was seeking advice on how to follow the lead of other countries.

"Vladimir Putin has unparalleled personal power over his country and he has chosen to wage war against a neighbor that poses no threat to Russia, because he wants to reverse history and take the freedom and democracy that the Ukrainian people have chosen for themselves," he continued. .

In his new sanctions, Payne said Australia would target 339 members of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament and eight more oligarchs. The new measures follow a series of Australian sanctions announced earlier this week.

"The next immediate priority is to continue sanctions against Vladimir Putin's inner circle and the Russian defense industry," Payne said.

Previously, the United States had imposed sanctions on Friday, February 25 against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US Treasury Department announced.

"We are united with our allies and international partners to ensure Russia pays a huge economic and diplomatic price for a further invasion of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.