Western states say prepare toughest ever sanctions against Russia

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (PRIME) -- Western states have agreed to impose the toughest ever sanctions against Russia in case of escalation of the situation with Ukraine, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during his speech in the parliament on Tuesday.

"We agreed that we would respond to any Russian attack on Ukraine in unison by imposing coordinated and severe economic sanctions, heavier than anything we've done before against Russia," he said.

A high-ranking U.S. administration official said that the sanctions of the U.S. and the E.U. may differ, adding that the U.S. is preparing measures that will be much heavier than the ones imposed in 2014, when the ruble lost 50% of its value, and the Russian central bank had to spend 25% of its reserves to support it.

The person also said that the possible restrictions on defense, aerospace and artificial intelligence exports will have a minimal impact on global supply chains.

The restrictions will be imposed as a single step, but not in stages, he said.

Economic consequences will also follow if Russia decides to use gas supplies as a weapon and the U.S. is looking for alternative gas sources for Europe in case the supplies via Ukraine stop, the official also said.

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