BRUSSELS (AP) — In the fight to defuse the Ukraine crisis, the White House is going directly after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wealthy and powerful entourage. In contrast, the European Union has mainly targeted smaller players, but ones linked closely to the Kremlin’s unilateral annexation of Crimea or the still simmering unrest in Ukraine’s east.
The reasons are economic, legal and political. For one thing, the EU can only impose travel bans or asset freezes if all its 28 member nations agree. The Obama administration doesn’t have to worry about such consensus-building when it levies economic sanctions.
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