The United States is considering imposing unilateral sanctions on Russia over its role in recent developments in Ukraine, a report says.
US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said in the Associated Press report published on Tuesday that the White House is now ready to move forward alone if the European Union fails to impose harsh sanctions during a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
On Saturday, the EU extended its sanctions on 11 more people in connection with the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine last year, the US and the EU have imposed sanctions on several Russian officials for what they perceive as Moscow’s refusal to ease tensions in Ukraine.
The Obama administration is under fire from Republican lawmakers because of its repeated threats of imposing tougher sanctions against Russia. Republicans say warnings about tougher sanctions are little more than empty threats.
“Sometimes I’m embarrassed for you, as you constantly talk about sanctions and yet, candidly, we never see them put in place,” Republican Senator Bob Corker said during a Senate hearing on Ukraine with administration officials last week.
The United States and Russia are at loggerheads over Crimea, with Washington accusing Moscow of orchestrating an “illegitimate referendum to annex Crimea" and fuelling unrest in eastern Ukraine.
The Autonomous Republic of Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which nearly 97 percent of the participants voted in favor of the move. On March 21, Crimea officially became part of the Russian territory.
On April 17, Russia, Ukraine, the US and the European Union agreed over steps to "de-escalate" the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev protesters seized buildings in several towns and cities.
But, Ukrainian authorities have ordered military operations against pro-Russian protesters in both eastern and southern Ukraine, claiming that Russian special forces are fueling unrest in the country.
Moscow has dismissed as "nonsense" claims that Russian special forces are fomenting unrest in Ukraine.
The government in Kiev is currently engaged in an all-out offensive against pro-Russian activists in the eastern regions of the country, which has some similarities with the plan of a RAND Corporation memo, which was leaked earlier this month.
The memo revealed that the US government-funded think tank advised the Ukrainian government to engage in an all-out war in the east, including placing citizens in internment camps and killing all who resist government actions.