By ZEKE MILLER and FATIMA HUSSEIN (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House mentioned Tuesday it’s getting ready extra “major sanctions” on Russia in response to opposition chief Alexei Navalny’s demise final week in an Arctic penal colony.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned the sanctions, on the eve of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “will be a substantial package covering a range of different elements of the Russian defense industrial base, and sources of revenue for the Russian economy that power Russia’s war machine, that power Russia’s aggression, and that power Russia’s repression.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby mentioned the U.S. had not decided how Navalny had died, however insisted that the final word duty lay with Putin.
“Regardless of the scientific answer, Putin’s responsible for it,” he informed reporters.
Russian authorities have mentioned the reason for Navalny’s demise remains to be unknown and have refused to launch his physique for the following two weeks because the preliminary inquest continues, members of his crew mentioned.
The Treasury Department declined to touch upon the main points of the upcoming sanctions. Brian Nelson, the division’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, is in Europe this week to proceed engaged on Russia sanctions forward of the invasion’s two-year anniversary.
“The global coalition imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s war machine has thrown sand in the gears of the Kremlin’s efforts to equip and supply its military. President Biden recently expanded Treasury’s authorities to target those funding Russia’s war production efforts – even if they’re located in third countries – and Treasury is aggressively pursuing those who attempt to evade our sanctions,” the Treasury division mentioned final week. “Multilateral sanctions and export controls have forced hard tradeoffs for Putin and damaged his ability to project power now and in the future.”
So far, the U.S. and its allies have sanctioned 1000’s of Russian individuals and corporations, frozen Russian Central Bank funds, banned sure Russian items, restricted Russian banks’ entry to SWIFT — the dominant system for world monetary transactions — and imposed a $60-per-barrel value cap on Russian oil and diesel, amongst different measures.
Policy consultants have superior an array of proposals meant to additional starve Russia of the cash it must proceed its invasion — from seizing the nation’s Central Bank funds housed largely in Europe to reducing the Group of Seven value cap in Russian oil.
A February working paper from the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions at Stanford University requires heavier sanctions in Russia’s vitality market – from reducing the present $60 value cap on Russian-produced oil to $30, in addition to finishing the EU and G7 ban on Russian hydrocarbons.
Asked about extra sanctions on Russia throughout a Council on Foreign Relations media briefing Tuesday, Stephen Sestanovich, a senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian research on the group, mentioned “the choices are rather limited — but it’s not zero.”
Sestanovich mentioned it’s also attainable that the U.S. and allies might decrease the worth cap on Russian oil, since it’s an space the place “the U.S. and EU have not been particularly aggressive.”
“They could try to go lower and put the squeeze on and force the Russians to sell more oil at a discount,” he mentioned, including that he anticipates the U.S. to impose extra private sanctions on Russian officers.
Charles Kupchan, additionally a CFR senior fellow and professor of worldwide affairs at Georgetown University mentioned, “sanctions are always in the quiver, but they’re not going to matter that much — because let’s be honest, the sanctions have not had a huge impact on the Russian economy.”
“What will make a big difference is military and economic assistance to Ukraine, full stop,” Kupchan mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”