The speakers of Russia’s two houses of parliament – both targeted by EU sanctions – were at Vladimir Putin’s side as he signed the law annexing Crimea
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law formalising Russia’s takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the US.
The European Union’s latest measures target 12 people involved in Russia’s annexation of the peninsula.
Earlier on Friday Ukraine and the EU signed an accord forging closer political ties.
European leaders also said they would step up efforts to reduce energy dependency on Russia.
The EU’s new sanctions add to an existing list of 21 officials affected by travel bans and asset freezes.
They include Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and two close aides of Vladimir Putin, Sergey Glazyev and Vladislav Surkov.
The speakers of Russia’s two houses of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko and Sergei Naryshkin – both at Mr Putin’s side as he signed the Crimea law – are also included.
While the list targets several figures close to the Russian president, it does not hit his inner circle as hard as the sanctions announced by the US on Thursday.
Downgrade
Shares fell sharply in Moscow on Friday as investors assessed the impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy.
Two credit rating agencies have now downgraded Russia’s outlook from stable to negative.
Visa and Mastercard have also stopped providing services to two Russian financial institutions, Bank Rossiya (hit by US sanctions) and SMP Bank.
The accord signed by the EU and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Brussels on Friday contains the political part of the EU Association Agreement rejected in November by Viktor Yanukovych, who was then Ukraine’s president.
That decision triggered violent protests, Mr Yanukovych’s eventual overthrow and Russia’s subsequent move into Crimea.
