By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Deputy Treasury Secret Wally Adeyemo will visit Europe next week in coordination with NATO over Russia’s attack on Ukraine. He also plans to discuss next steps with other partners including targeting key sectors of Russia’s economy. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department told Reuters.

Adeyemo is scheduled to meet with his counterparts in London, Brussels Paris, Berlin, and Paris responsible for the sanctions between March 28th and April 1st, a spokesperson stated. This was as Washington seeks to increase pressure on Russia regarding the largest attack on an European state since World War Two.

A spokesperson for the President stated that this would be a follow-up to Joe Biden’s visit to Brussels and Poland last week. The purpose of the trip was to coordinate an international response against Russia’s invasion. Moscow refers to it as an “special operation” in disarming and “denazifying” its neighbor.

Adeyemo’s visit will focus on efforts to locate and seize assets from Russian elites via a newly formed Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs Task Force, a spokesperson stated.

In a statement, the Treasury stated that the United States of America, Australia, Canada and Canada launched REPO last Wednesday to gather and share information in order to use against the oligarchs.

Since the attack on Ukraine started nearly four weeks back, several rounds have been imposed by the United States and its allies, which include sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and major banks.

While the Treasury declined to specify which sectors might be targeted next, a debate is brewing in Europe about hitting Russia’s energy sector https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-mull-russian-oil-embargo-with-biden-set-join-talks-2022-03-21, which Washington has warned it could target further.

Daleep Singh (deputy U.S. National Security Advisor for Economics) said that Washington still has the ability to expand sanctions in order to reach more sectors, banks and targets.

“Russia’s economic dominance. Singh spoke to CBS Television’s “60 Minutes,” a CBS interview that was broadcast Sunday.

Washington, the Russian central bank and major lenders, as well as Russian oligarchs have been placed under sanctions. Biden also imposed an immediate ban for Russian oil imports this month.

However, the European Union’s Foreign Ministers differed Monday over whether or not to place sanctions against Russia’s energy sector. Germany said that the bloc is too dependent upon Russian oil to consider an embargo.

The 27-nation EU is divided by the decision to target Russian energy exports as Britain and the United States have. Russia supplies 40% of the EU’s gas.