U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the report released by his office will lead to new sanctions against Russia.
The Treasury Department on Monday released the list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 "oligarchs" in line with a sanctions law passed by Congress last year to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
Mnuchin came under fire from Democrats for the failure to impose any sanctions in the report Treasury released while he was testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
He said the goal was not to levy sanctions by the deadline for producing the report, adding that a review of the classified section of the report could provide more information on the issue. Mnuchin said "there will be sanctions that come out of this report."
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Trump administration's list of top officials and businesspeople is a "hostile step" that harms relations between Russia and the United States.
Just 12 minutes before the deadline, the administration late on Monday released a long-awaited list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 "oligarchs" who have flourished under Putin, fulfilling a demand by Congress that the U.S. punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
The section on political leaders includes the entire Kremlin administration and the Cabinet as well as other top officials.
Speaking at a campaign event in Moscow, Putin, who is running for president at the March election, joked on Tuesday that he felt "slighted" that he himself was not on the list.
Putin described the list as a "hostile step" but said Moscow does not want to make the situation worse and is eager to "develop the relations as much as our American counterparts are willing to."
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