President Biden prepares to announce sanctions on Russia

February 24, 2021

BREAKING NEWS: President Biden prepares to announce sanctions on Russia over poisoning and jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Biden administration is preparing to issue sanctions on Russia in coming weeks
Sanctions are in response to jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny
Sources said US sanctions on Russia would be Biden administration’s first major step in holding the country accountable for human rights abuses
President Joe Biden lists such accountability as priority for foreign policy agenda
No immediate details of the response were revealed, but one source said the US: ‘We won’t stand by idly in the face of these human rights abuses’

The Biden administration is preparing to issue sanctions on Russia over the jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

According to Politico, the US is expected to coordinate with European allies a sanctions rollout against Russia in the coming weeks.

Sources told the news outlet that US sanctions on Russia would be the Biden administration’s first major step in holding the country accountable for human rights abuses, which President Joe Biden lists as a priority for his foreign policy agenda.

No immediate details of the response were revealed, but one source claimed that the US is ‘considering available policy options’.

‘We won’t stand by idly in the face of these human rights abuses,’ the official said.

The Biden administration is preparing to issue sanctions on Russia over the jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Navalny (pictured), 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, was arrested in Moscow last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin

Daniel Fried, who served as assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department, told Politico: ‘I don’t think we can stop [Russian President] Putin from sending Navalny to a penal colony. But by acting quickly now, at least it’s in Putin’s calculation that the US is willing to act.’

The Biden administration is also not starting from scratch as it relates to sanctioning Russia. The administration received a comprehensive sanctions package from the previous administration.

Sources told the news site that the package proposed three types of sanctions: Magnitsky Act sanctions on the individuals who detained Navalny; sanctions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act); and sanctions under Executive Order 13382.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of Navalny, and expressed concern that the government in Moscow appears to see the 27-nation bloc as an adversary.

‘We reached a political agreement to impose restrictive measures against those responsible for (Navalny’s) arrest and sentencing and persecution,’ EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after chairing their meeting in Brussels.

He gave no details about the sanctions, but said that he hoped they would be finalized in about a week.

Borrell suggested that those targeted wouldn’t include oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, as Navalny’s supporters have requested.

Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption investigator and Putin’s most prominent critic, was arrested in Moscow last month upon returning from Germany, where he spent five months recovering from a nerve-agent poisoning that he blames on the Kremlin. Russian authorities have rejected the accusation.

Earlier this month, a court sentenced Navalny to two years and eight months in prison for violating the terms of his probation while recuperating in Germany. The sentence stems from a 2014 embezzlement conviction that Navalny has rejected as fabricated.

The European Court of Human Rights has also ruled that it’s unlawful. Navalny’s arrest and imprisonment have fueled a huge wave of protests across Russia.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose new sanctions against Russian officials linked to the jailing of Navalny. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is pictured during a press conference on Monday

Authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown, detaining about 11,000 people, many of whom were fined or given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 days.

‘There is a shared assessment in the Council that Russia is drifting towards an authoritarian state and driving away from Europe,’ Borrell told reporters.

Given Moscow’s apparent path of ‘confrontation and disengagement,’ Borrell said the bloc will work on three tracks: pushing back when Russia infringes international law, containing it when it pressures the EU, and engaging on issues that are in Europe’s interests.

So far, EU countries have been deeply divided over their approach to Moscow.

Russia is the EU’s biggest natural gas supplier, and plays a key role in a series of international conflicts and key issues, including the Iran nuclear deal, and conflicts in Syria and Libya.

European heavyweight Germany has strong economic interests there, notably the NordStream 2 undersea pipeline project, and a number of countries, including France, are also reluctant to wade into any sanctions battle over Navalny.

‘We need Russia to resolve many international conflicts, and so that will also be a question we must deal with: How is it possible to maintain a constructive dialogue with Russia, even though relations between the EU and Russia have certainly reached a low point?’ German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

The meeting came two weeks after Borrell was publicly humiliated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a trip to the country. Russia expelled diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden, accusing them of attending a rally in support of Navalny.

Borrell found out about the move by social media. The three retaliated by each declaring a Russian diplomat ‘persona non grata’.

Criticism of Borrell initially mounted, but Lavrov’s behavior now seems to have united the Europeans, at least publicly, in their opposition to Moscow´s attempts to further divide them.

‘We confirmed our unity as our greatest asset,’ Borrell said. ‘At the same time, we must define a modus vivendi to avoid permanent confrontation with a neighbor who unfortunately seems to have decided to act as an adversary.’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined the ministers via videoconference for part of their meeting, with talks focusing on Russia but also China.

Borrell said the exchange was ‘very, very encouraging,’ and showed Washington’s willingness to not only renew ties but to join in global leadership on the coronavirus, economic recovery, climate change and protecting democratic values.

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