US senators have urged President Barack Obama to impose embargo on three major Russian banks, freeze their assets and prevent their employees from entering the US.
The senators are putting the blame on three giant Russian banks, VTB, Gazprombank, and Vnesheconombank–the state development bank known as VEB– for œundermining” United Nations sanctions by œaiding” Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, RT reports.
US congressmen appear irritated after Russian President Vladimir Putin prevented a plan for military strikes on Syria by offering a proposal to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
œThe Syrians could not conduct this war without Russian financing,” Rep. Richard Blumenthal (Democrat) said at a US policy meeting on Iran and Syria at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington DC.
œWe can freeze their assets. We can stop them from doing business in the United States, prevent their employees from traveling here and, in effect, impose very heavy financial pain on the Russians,” Blumenthal said.
In their letter, the senators accuse the VTB of holding President Assad’s personal account. They hold VEB responsible for facilitating payments for purchase of S-300 missile systems, and name Gazprombank for making payments on crude oil.
VTB issued a response to the allegations by US senators, saying their banks have not violated any laws.
œAll the activities carried out by VEB are strictly in accordance with the sanctions adopted by the EU and the UN on the Syrian Republic,” VEB™s press service told RIA Novosti.
The United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have imposed sanctions on Syria™s financial system.
Accusations of bypassing sanctions come a few days after Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov agreed to work with the UN to put Syria™s chemical weapons under international supervision.
AN/HJ
Copyright: Press TV