US President Joe Biden has warned Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying he will pay a ‘severe price’ if he uses chemical weapons.
In a bid to wipe $1 billion in revenue to Russia, Biden also banned imports of Russian alcohol, diamonds, and seafood.
Restrictions will prevent Russia from borrowing money from multilateral institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and will also stop the delivery of luxury goods such as high-end clothes, watches, alcohol, and cars.
In a statement from the White House, Biden said: “The United States and our allies and partners continue to work in lockstep to ramp up the economic pressures on Putin and to further isolate Russia and the global stage.”
The president also noted that revoking the favored trade status “’is going to make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States, and doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy that’s already suffering very badly from our sanctions.”
According to reports, the economy of Russia has taken a severe blow after sanctions have been placed and hundreds of companies left the country.
In his statement, Biden reiterated that US troops will not fight in Ukraine.
“We will not fight a war against Russia,” he said, adding that a “direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III – something we must strive to prevent.”
The White House has previously explained that it opposed Poland sending fighter jets to Ukraine as it doesn’t want to escalate the conflict.
“I’m not going to speak about the intelligence but Russia would pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons,” Biden added.
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