McCain told Bloomberg Television that it would be “a tough call,” but that companies like ExxonMobil, Ford, General Electric and Pepsi might have to pull out or roll back their presence in Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t withdraw troops from Ukraine's border.

"If we declare sanctions of a certain kind with their companies and corporations, obviously it would inhibit their way to do business, their ability to do business there,” McCain said. “We don't want to hurt our own economy.”

Still, McCain also insisted that the sort of sanctions that could affect titans of American business are a long way off, even as he noted that former President Jimmy Carter ­– not one of the Arizona Republican’s favorite past presidents – took strong steps against the Soviet Union in the 1970s.

“These kinds of sanctions you're talking about would only be if he went much further. It would only be considered if he went much further,” McCain said on Bloomberg’s “Political Capital.”