MOSCOW, March 22 Reuters The Russian rouble cut some losses after hitting a more than twoweek low versus the dollar on Monday as new sanctions against Moscow loomed and Turkeys nosediving lira led to a drop in risk appetite.

By 1201 GMT, the rouble was 0.4 weaker against the dollar at 74.39. Earlier, it slumped to 74.8250, its weakest mark since March 4.

It had lost 0.6 to trade at 88.75 versus the euro .

Turkeys lira briefly fell 15 to near its alltime low after President Tayyip Erdogans shock weekend ousting of a hawkish central bank governor sparked fears of a reversal of recent rate hikes, putting pressure on riskier assets.

The threat of more U.S. sanctions is also hanging over the rouble, with an announcement expected this week.

If U.S. sanctions this week are limited to personal restrictions and additional measures against Nord Stream 2, the rouble could well return to the 7374USD range after shortterm volatility, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest.

The rouble has suffered in the past week since U.S. President Joe Biden said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin would pay a price for alleged meddling in the 2020 U.S. election.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called for Moscow and Beijing to reduce their dependence on the U.S. dollar and Western payment systems to push back against what he called the Wests ideological agenda.

Support for the Russian currency should come this week from a monthend tax payments period that…