Report: US can slap sanctions on more Russian banks, sectors

WASHINGTON, Mar 21 (PRIME) -- The U.S. is ready to expand sanctions against Russia to cover more banks and industries, including energy, Daleep Singh, deputy national security adviser for international economics, told CBS on Monday.

"We can broaden our sanctions. So – take the measures, take the sanctions we've already applied, apply them in more targets. Apply them to more sectors," Singh said. "More banks, more sectors that we haven't touched."

According to Singh, the Western sanctions can halve the Russian economy. "The best projections I see out there right now are suggesting that Russia's economy is gonna be half of its size that it was before this invasion. And we take no pride in the suffering of the Russian people ... These are Putin's sanctions. And this is Putin's hardship he's putting on the Russian people," Singh said.

He also said that during the negotiations with China, the U.S. presented possible consequences for the country in case of military aid to Russia, but did not disclose them.

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