The United States government on Tuesday announced sanctions against seven Russian officials, including intelligence chief Alexandr Bórtnikov, over the poisoning and imprisonment of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalni, in the first step against Moscow by the new US president, Joe. Biden. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that the purpose of the sanctions is “to send a clear message that the use of chemical weapons and the violation of human rights has serious consequences”.
These are the first sanctions imposed by Moscow by Biden, who took power on January 20.
Coordination
With these sanctions, the US joins the sanctions previously imposed by the European Union (EU) and shares concerns about “a deepening
of authoritarianism ”in Russia, added Blinken.
In his recent attendance at the Munich Security Conference in February, Biden stated that the “transatlantic alliance” between the United States and Europe “has returned” after four years of tension, referring to the already former President Donald Trump, who bet that
through aggressive nationalism. About Moscow, Biden warned, “Russian leaders want people to think that our system is more corrupt, or as corrupt as theirs, but the world knows this is not true, including the citizens of Russia themselves. (President Vladimir) Putin is trying to weaken the European project and our NATO alliance ”.
Together with Bórtnikov, they also appear on the list of punished Igor Krasnov, the Russian general prosecutor; Sergei Kiriyenko, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of Putin and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko.
As a result of these measures, assets that may fall under US jurisdiction will be frozen and financial transfers with US entities will be prohibited. Restrictions are also imposed on certain Russian exports and the issuance of visas to individuals in the US is suspended. list.
Washington also stressed it has reports confirming “with
great confidence ”that Navalni was poisoned by agents of the Russian intelligence service with the chemical agent Novichok.
The 44-year-old Russian opposition leader is currently serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for a long-term criminal case of fraud and money laundering, and his jail sentence sparked mass protests across Russia at the end of January.
More sanctions
In a telephone conversation with journalists to provide details, senior officials of the Biden administration noted that the measure underscores the change of tone in Washington towards the Trump administration (2017-2021).
“We are not naive about the challenge, we know that the relationship will remain challenging (…) Therefore, we reserve the right to take additional steps,” said the White House spokeswoman at a press conference. Jen Psaki, recognizing the relative specific weight of the size.
KNOWING MORE
Violations.
Joe Biden joins his predecessors, Trump and Barack Obama (2009-2017), who have also imposed several rounds of economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia for actions they believe violated international norms, such as the annexation of Crimea or their participation in electoral interference. in the U.S.