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* EU resolves argument over timing of new sanctions
* U.S. to target Sberbank, tighten limits on other banks
* Russia says it will respond to the new EU sanctions (Recasts with U.S. action, changes dateline, pvsBRUSSELS/LONDON)
By Adrian Croft and Arshad Mohammed
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - European Uniongovernments agreed on Thursday to begin their new sanctionsagainst Russia over the Ukraine crisis on Friday but could liftthem next month if Moscow abides by a fragile truce, while theUnited States prepared its own fresh sanctions.
The steps are the latest by the United States and the EUfollowing Russia's annexation of Crimea in March and what theWest sees as an effort since then to further destabilize Ukraineby backing pro-Russian separatists with troops and arms.
President Barack Obama said he will provide details on thenew U.S. sanctions on Friday. The United States plans tosanction Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and tofurther limit other Russian banks' access to U.S. capital,sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The 28 governments of EU member states last week agreed onthe new sanctions against Russia but spent several dayswrangling over their announcement and implementation.
Russia's foreign ministry said the approval of the new EUpenalties showed the European Union had "made its choiceagainst" the current peace road map aimed at ending the worstconfrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
After EU ambassadors gave the go-ahead to the new sanctionsto go into effect on Friday, European Council President HermanVan Rompuy said EU officials would conduct a review before theend of September of how the truce reached last week betweenUkraine government forces and rebels was working. If Russia wascomplying, some or all sanctions could be lifted, he said.
"If the situation on the ground so warrants," he said,officials may submit to EU leaders "proposals to amend, suspendor repeal the set of sanctions in force, in all or in part".
That enticement to Moscow to cooperate, while immediatelyimposing new measures, reflects impatience on the part of someleaders not to pull punches after less than a week of the trucebut also concern among others, especially those most heavilydependent on Russian trade, not to provoke Moscow's retaliation.
The EU agreement on the timing of the sanctions followed aphone call on Thursday involving Van Rompuy, British PrimeMinister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, FrenchPresident Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister MatteoRenzi, Cameron's spokesman said in London.
"If Russia genuinely reverses course, then of course theEuropean Union and others will return to the subject, but thereunfortunately has been very little evidence so far and that iswhy you have the European Union going ahead," the spokesmansaid.
Western powers have accused Russia of sending tanks andtroops into eastern Ukraine to prop up a rebellion by pro-Moscowseparatists. The Kremlin denies that and has responded with itsown sanctions and threats of more retaliation.
'A CHANGE OF DIRECTION'
Britain's Europe Minister David Lidington said he toldRussia's ambassador to London that EU sanctions were beingimposed as a direct response to Russian actions and "wouldremain in place until we see evidence of a change of direction".
Moscow would take comparable measures in response to new EUsanctions, Russian news agencies quoted a Foreign Ministryspokesman as saying.
"Today, Brussels and the leaders of the EU nations need togive a clear answer to EU citizens as to why they are puttingthem under the risks of confrontation, economic stagnation andunemployment," the Russian ministry said in a statement.
The Russian response could include caps on used car importsand other consumer goods, Kremlin economic aide Andrei Belousovwas quoted by state-run RIA news agency as saying.
But a Kremlin spokesman was quoted by the Interfax newsagency as saying Russia is committed to helping enforce a peaceinitiative in Ukraine despite the new EU sanctions.
Some European officials believe Moscow could use disruptionsto the natural gas deliveries on which the EU depends as itstrump card in the confrontation over Ukraine.
Poland's state-controlled gas importer PGNiG saidon Thursday it had received 45 percent less natural gas than itrequested from Russia's Gazprom on Wednesday.
Although Gazprom said Russian gas flows to Poland wereunchanged from the previous week, Poland said later that Gazpromhad promised to deliver contracted gas supplies to PGNiG onFriday.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he had askedofficials to determine the reason for a drop of around 10percent in supplies of Russian gas to Slovakia in recent days.
Ukraine imports around half of its gas needs from Russia,and the EU meets a third of its demand through imports fromRussia, with 40 percent of that gas flowing through Ukraine.
The new EU sanctions are expected to put Russia's top oilproducers and pipeline operators, Rosneft, Transneft and GazpromNeft, on a list of Russian state-owned firms that will not beallowed to raise capital or borrow on European markets, an EUdiplomat said.
EU sanctions do not include the gas sector and in particularstate-owned Gazprom, the world's biggest gas producer and thebiggest gas supplier to Europe.
But under the EU penalties, firms in the bloc will be barredfrom providing drilling or well testing services for deepwateroil exploration, Arctic oil exploration or production and shaleoil projects in Russia.
Battle-tank maker Uralvagonzavod, aerospacecompany Oboronprom and state-controlled UnitedAircraft Corp (UAC) are also expected to face sanctions,according to a draft obtained by Reuters.
The EU sanctions would prohibit the companies from raisingcapital in Europe via "financial instruments with a maturityexceeding 30 days," the draft document said.
An earlier round of EU sanctions barred EU nationals andcompanies from buying or selling new bonds or equity with amaturity of more than 90 days issued by major state-ownedRussian banks: Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB) and RussianAgriculture Bank (Rosselkhozbank).
Under the new sanctions, EU nationals and companies may nolonger provide loans to the five banks. Trade in new bonds orequity with a maturity exceeding 30 days, issued by the samebanks, will now be prohibited.
The EU will offer Russia more time to adjust to a Europeantrade pact with Ukraine at talks with Ukraine and Russia inBrussels on Friday, diplomats say. (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan in London, AndreasRinke in Berlin, Jan Strupczewski, Robin Emmott, Julia Fioretti,Alastair Macdonald, Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Writing byWill Dunham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
