Estonia's President Criticizes Switzerland for Lack of Sanctions Against Russia

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Estonia's President Toomas Hendrik Ilves criticized Swiss authorities for acting in their own interests and refusing to introduce sanctions against Russia, Sonntags Zeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.
"Switzerland must live with the criticism that it has only dispensed with its own sanctions to gain an advantage for its banking sector," Ilves told the paper.

The president did not specify whether Estonia, as part of the European Union would put pressure on Switzerland. He noted, however, that other countries that claimed to be neutral, such as Sweden and Ireland, ended up supporting the sanctions.
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EU Confirms New Economic Sanctions Against Moscow

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 The European Union agreed on Tuesday a new set of economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, a joint communique by EU leaders said. “Today the European Union has agreed a package of significant additional restrictive measures targeting sectoral cooperation and exchanges with the Russian Federation,” a statement by the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said.

“These decisions will limit access to EU capital markets for Russian State-owned financial institutions, impose an embargo on trade in arms, establish an export ban for dual use goods for military end users, and curtail Russian access to sensitive technologies particularly in the field of the oil sector,” the document said.

If Crimea referendum takes place, sanctions against Russia to follow - US's Kerry

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If the Crimean referendum takes place there will be some sanctions and some response, US State Secretary John Kerry has said after the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the situation in Ukraine.

John Kerry said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make no decision on Ukraine until after Sunday's referendum on the region of Crimea.

EU should drop language of sanctions against Ukraine – Diplomat

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The European Union should stop speaking to Ukraine in the language of sanctions and use the language of support and political dialogue, Russia’s ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, commenting on statements by some EU officials about sanctions against Ukraine.

Earlier Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkjavicus tweeted:

"Unrolling brutal scenario in Euromaidan calls for united reaction from EU. Calls for dialogue ineffective, time for targeted sanctions," Linkjavicus posted on his Twitter account.

Full Update: US Senate bill authorizes sanctions on Russia or any other country offering Snowden asylum

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US sanctions against any country offering asylum to Edward Snowden are unanimously approved in Congress by voice vote as an amendment to next year’s $50.6 billion diplomacy and international aid bill.

The measure introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham demands the State Department coordinate with lawmakers on setting penalties against nations that seek to help Snowden avoid extradition to the United States, where authorities want him prosecuted for revealing details of the government’s massive surveillance system, according to the Washington Post.

"I don’t know if he’s getting a change of clothes. I don’t know if he’s going to stay in Russia forever. I don’t know where he’s going to go," Graham said. "But I know this: That the right thing to do is to send him back home so he can face charges for the crimes he’s allegedly committed."

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