US, Russia in war of threats over Ukraine

The Kremlin warned against sanctions on Putin that Biden said could be imposed in response to a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russia hit back on Wednesday at US threats of direct sanctions against President Vladimir Putin, saying moves against the Russian leader would be ineffective and hurt efforts to lower tensions over Ukraine.

A paratroopers attends an exercise at the Pesochnoe ground in the Yaroslavl region, Russia. (AP)

The West has warned Russia of severe consequences if it does invade, and on Tuesday, Washington said there could be sanctions personally targeting Putin.

Reacting to the news, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the threats as worthless because senior Russian officials are barred from holding assets abroad. But such a move, he said, would do serious damage to diplomatic efforts to ease rising tensions over Ukraine.

“Politically, it’s not painful, it’s destructive,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin has previously said any US sanctions personally targeting Putin would be akin to crossing a red line, warning the move could result in a rupture of bilateral ties. US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that any Russian military attack on Ukraine would trigger “enormous consequences” and could even “change the world”.

In another development, Russia said on Wednesday that it has received Washington’s response to Moscow’s security demands from US ambassador John Sullivan. “The head of the American diplomatic mission handed over a written response of the US administration to the draft bilateral treaty on security guarantees,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement following Sullivan’s meeting with deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko.

Working to de-escalate crisis: French foreign min

France is working flat out with its European partners and the US to find ways to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.

He was addressing the Senate, the upper chamber of France’s parliament, as senior advisers from France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia met in Paris under the so-called ‘Normandy format’.

Meanwhile, Nato on Wednesday said it has delivered a set of written “proposals” to Russia, after Moscow issued a raft of demands to roll back US influence in eastern Europe.

“Nato has conveyed its proposals to Russia this afternoon, in parallel with the United States,” a Nato official said on Wednesday.

Brent oil price tops $90 for first time since 2014

Brent oil on Wednesday surpassed $90 per barrel to strike the highest level for more than seven years, rattled by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and supply concerns in the Middle East.

European benchmark Brent North Sea crude rallied as high as $90.02 in late afternoon London trade, attaining a level last seen in October 2014.

A string of Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs Group have forecast oil will hit $100 a barrel this year as the global market tightens.