Beating a dead horse: U.S. considering even more sanctions against Russia

© Evan Vucci/AP

The United States will be considering further sanctions against Russia in the coming days depending on whether there is progress on the Minsk peace agreements, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

"The next step, if we take one in the next days, which is under consideration depending on what unfolds, will bring us into synchronization [with the sanctions imposed by the European Union and Canada]. Not only will we come into synchronization, but there will probably be additional sanctions," Kerry said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday.

On February 18, Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced new economic sanctions and travel bans against 37 Russian and Ukrainian individuals as well as economic sanctions against 17 Russian and Ukrainian entities over their alleged role in the escalation of the situation in Ukraine.

The European Union ministers agreed on February 9 to freeze assets of individuals allegedly linked to eastern Ukrainian independence supporters, and ban their entry to the bloc.

Implementation of the new round of sanctions was put on hold because of the Ukraine reconciliation talks in Minsk, Belarus among the leaders of Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia.

During 2014, the United States and its allies imposed several rounds of sanctions targeting Russia's defense, energy and banking sectors, as well as certain individuals, over Moscow's alleged meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs.

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the situation in Ukraine and has stressed that sanctions are counterproductive and hamper efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict.