Page 18 - bne_newspaper_February_16_2019

Eastern Europe
February 16, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 18
MOSCOW BLOG: US threatens new round of sanctions but Russia is ready
Ben Aris in Berlin
Sanctions are back. There were four rounds of sanctions in 2018 that clearly did a lot of damage to Russia’s business and investment case, but ulti- mately they failed to produce their advertised goal: force the Kremlin to change its aggressive ways.
As the year came to an end, there was a hiatus
as the last round of new “crushing” sanctions, due at the end of last year, were postponed due
to the US mid-term elections. This week the US government has picked up the ball again and is revving up to target more oligarchs and leading Russian companies in retribution for interfering in the 2016 elections and Russian aggression in the Sea of Azov in November.
Five US senators from both parties on Wednesday evening announced that they had submitted
a bill called the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act (DASKA). It is intended to increase economic, political and diplomatic pressure on Russia “in response
to its interference in democratic processes abroad, its disastrous influence in Syria and aggression against Ukraine, including the incident in the Kerch Strait,” the Senate Foreign Policy Committee said in a press release.
Toughest so far
These are the toughest sanctions of all proposed so far, said Republican Senator Lindsay Graham: “Our goal is to change the status quo and introduce significant sanctions and measures
against Putin’s Russia. He must stop interfering in the US electoral process, stop cyber attacks on American infrastructure, withdraw Russia from Ukraine and stop efforts to create chaos in Syria. ”
Western diplomats, especially those in Europe, have been disappointed in particular by the Kremlin’s refusal to release sailors from three Ukrainian naval ships. They were arrested during a naval clash between Russian and Ukrainian ships on the Sea of Azov on November 25.
The ruble and equities tanked on February 13 as news broke that the US Senate had introduced new sanctions legislation due to be heard soon.
Amongst the points mentioned in the bill are sanctions:
• against Russian banks supporting Russian actions to undermine democratic institutions in other countries;
• in relation to investments in Russian LNG projects outside Russia;
• in relation to the Russian cyber industry;
• against Russian government debt;
• against politicians, oligarchs, family members
and other individuals who directly or indirectly contribute to illegal and corrupt activities in the interests of Putin.
In response to the Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine are, among others, sanctions: