Obama: Economic sanctions if Russia enters Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and Europe are laying the groundwork to sanction broad sectors of Russia’s economy if Moscow invades eastern Ukraine, President Barack Obama said Friday, even as he acknowledged that those sanctions may fail to deter Vladimir Putin.

So far, the U.S. has slapped sanctions on individuals but hasn’t targeted entire economic sectors, such as Russia’s critical energy sector. Obama’s comments affirmed that, barring a full-on military incursion, Russia is unlikely to face those beefed-up sanctions, which could ricochet and harm U.S. allies in Europe that do business with Russia.