The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions targeting a number of senior Russian officials and businesses over the attempted murder and jailing of opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. sanction
The US sanction targeted seven Russian government officials and 13 Russian and European companies who were not immediately named. As a result, any property or dealings by the sanctioned officials and companies in the US will be frozen or blocked, and foreigners holding transactions with them could also face sanctions.
The US sanctions comes as its intelligence community concluded with high confidence that Russia’s Federal Security Service used the Russian nerve agent Novichok on Navalny last August.
A senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said that the sanctions would be the first of several steps by the Biden administration to “respond to a number of destabilizing actions,” including Russian interference in the 2020 election and bounties allegedly offered to Taliban fighters and other extremists for killing US soldiers.
The official also said policy towards Russia was now being closely coordinated with European allies, and that more punitive measures would be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
“The tone and substance of our conversation with Russia, and our conversations about Russia, will be very different from what you saw in the previous administration.
“We are not seeking to escalate, we are not seeking to reset. We are seeking stability and predictability and areas of constructive work with Russia, where it is in our interest to do that.”
The official further asserted that President Joe Biden is not seeking either a reset of relations with Russia or an escalation against it, but rather, the U.S. intends to “hold Russia to account for its actions. It is also committed to working with Russia in areas that advance its interests.”
Meanwhile, the EU announced its own sanctions against Russian officials, banning travel and freezing the assets in Europe of four members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. The officials include Alexander Bastrykin, Head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Igor Krasnov, the Prosecutor General, Viktor Zolotov, Head of the National Guard and Alexander Kalashnikov, Head of the Federal Prison Service
An EU statement said the four were listed “over their roles in the arbitrary arrest, prosecution and sentencing of Mr Navalny, as well as the repression of peaceful protests in connection with his unlawful treatment.”
Last year, Navalny was poisoned by the Russian nerve agent and after months of recuperation in Germany, he flew home to Moscow in January and was arrested upon arrival for an alleged parole violation.
The opposition leader has repeatedly appealed to the West to start targeting the most powerful business and financial oligarchs of his country, saying only then would Russian leaders take international sanctions seriously.
Shortly before his arrest, he gave supporters a list of eight big business and political figures he hoped the West would hit in new sanctions. The Biden administration official said some of those named by Navalny were among those in the new US sanctions. sanction sanction
