US President Obama Announces Details of Sanctions, Claims No New Cold War Over Ukraine

"It's not a new cold war, it is … a very specific issue related to Russia’s unwillingness to recognize that Ukraine can chart its own path," President Obama stated.

He added that for Russia "there continues to be a better choice, the choice of de-escalation, the choice of joining the world in a diplomatic solution."

President Obama stated that he will continue contacts with Russia, Ukraine and EU in search for a diplomatic solution. "I am going to continue to engage President Putin as well as President Poroshenko and our European partners in pursuit of such a diplomatic solution," he stated.

The United States froze credit of exports to Russia and financing for economic development projects in Russia in addition to sanctions announced on Tuesday, US President Barack Obama stated Wednesday.

"The United States is imposing new sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy: energy, arms and finance. We are blocking the exports of specific goods and technologies to the Russian energy sector, we are expanding our sanctions to more Russian banks and defense companies and we are formally suspending credit that encourages exports to Russia and financing for economic development projects in Russia," President Obama stated.

Earlier on Tuesday the European Union agreed a new set of economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, which 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.

Russia has repeatedly called the "language of sanctions" counterproductive and said these measures would have a boomerang effect.

RIA Novosti