Obama imposes sanctions on Crimea, echoing measures taken by EU

President Barack Obama has banned new investments in Crimea, slapping sanctions on the peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine earlier this year.

Obama signed an executive order Friday that imposes economic restrictions similar to sanctions imposed by the European Union on Thursday.

The order prohibits U.S. companies or individuals from exporting or importing any goods, services or technology to or from Crimea. Likewise, U.S. individuals or companies cannot buy real estate or businesses in Crimea or finance Crimean companies.

Obama on Thursday signed separate legislation that authorized new sanctions on Russia but said he does not plan to impose those penalties because they were not in tandem with European Union sanctions. The Crimea sanctions, however, will be imposed because they were coordinated with the European Union.