The US is ready to target the personal fortune of Vladimir Putin

The United States has been preparing to take the lead in enforcing a tougher sanctions regime on the Kremlin, and, according to officials, was ready to target the personal fortune of Vladimir Putin.

The US has made plain that it was preparing to raise substantially the costs of Russian interference in the region, and the warning that more sanctions were being prepared against the highest echelons of the Kremlin, was one of Mr Kerry’s main bargaining chips in the talks in Geneva last night.

“We are actively preparing new sanctions,” Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said.

European Union foreign ministers said last Monday that they, too, were preparing to expand their list of 33 high-profile Russian individuals who have been hit with asset freezes