The European Union is planning to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as punishment for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a report Friday.
The European sanctions against Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov will be part of a tranche of sanctions, according to the report in the Financial Times.
The move spotlights President Biden’s reluctance to impose sanctions on Mr. Putin’s personal wealth. Mr. Biden has repeatedly insisted such a move is “still on the table.” But he did not answer questions from reporters on Thursday about why he avoided sanctioning Mr. Putin personally.
EU officials are expected to approve the asset freeze, which would be part of a sanctions package by Friday afternoon, the Times reported.
However, the EU will not ban Mr. Putin or Mr. Lavrov from traveling in Europe, which would keep open the window to diplomacy.
Jeffrey J. Schott, a senior fellow of international trade and economic sanctions for the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said it’s unclear why the U.S. has been reluctant to sanction Mr. Putin.
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He said one possibility is because it would effectively close the door to diplomacy. Mr. Biden has signaled that he’s still open to diplomacy with Mr. Putin, even as Russian troops approach the Ukraine capital of Kyiv.
“It’s going to disrupt the relationship any more than it already is, even after the Russian invasion,” he said.
Mr. Schott said he expects lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to step up pressure on Mr. Biden to sanction Mr. Putin now that Europe has made the first move. However, he said sanctioning Mr. Putin is more of a symbolic political message than a harsh penalty.
“It’s really a political step,” Mr. Schott said. “His assets have been moved so the impact would be very minimal. It’s just a political statement that he be held accountable for the military incursion.”
Other proposals on the table by the EU include freezing transactions with a wide range of Russian banks, blocking state-owned companies from launching listings on stock exchanges and blocking Russian nationals from making deposits in European banks.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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