Investors had been selling Russian securities, causing its currency to fall 7.6 percent against the dollar this year. The country’s reaction to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February -- annexing the Crimea region and amassing troops by the Ukraine border -- has increased the perception of risk attached to investing in Russian sovereign debt.

The cost to protect $10 million of debt through the credit default swap market has risen to $248,000 annually for five years from $166,000 at the end of last year, according to data provider CMA, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc.

An administration official warned this week that if the talks fail, the U.S. is ready to take further steps, targeting people in the Russian president’s inner circle and entities they oversee. Industry-specific sanctions are also an option, according to the official, who spoke about private talks on condition of anonymity.

‘Biggest Weapon’

“The biggest weapon in terms of sanctions would be similar sanctions to what we did in Iran and basically try to exclude Russia from international financial markets,” said William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. “The Russians fear that, and that is what the Russians want to avoid.”

The meeting in Washington last week included several mutual-fund companies with large bond units, according to the person. Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been asking U.S. asset managers about their investments in Russian securities, said the person.

‘Undermine Oligarchs’

An administration official, who asked for anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said there have been no specific requests made to investors not to invest in Russia. The official said the Department of Commerce and the Treasury do have conversations with the business community to explain what they’re doing, such as briefing executives after a sanctions announcement. The official said the government maintains open lines of communication so businesses understand what policy makers are doing.

Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, said this month that the global economic market is doing its part to rein in Putin.

“The flood of money out of Russia in the last several months has been astonishing, and I hope it continues,” Clinton said April 8 at a conference in San Francisco. “That is the best way to undermine the oligarchs who support him, undermine his own economic interests.”