Page 19 - RusRPTJul19

2.14 Politics - misc
The European Union's has extended economic sanctions on Russia for another six months effective from July 31, an EU spokesman said on June 20. President Vladimir Putin says during his annual phone-in that Western sanctions have cost Russia $50bn but cost the EU $240bn in “lost opportunities.” Trade turnover between Russia and the EU has fallen by about a third to around €200bn since sanctions were first imposed following Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014. According to the EU spokesman, the decision was unanimous (as it has to be) and the decision was reached thanks to the failure by Russia to meeting the conditions lad out in the Minsk Agreements on the settlement of the conflict with Ukraine
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted to readmit Russia on June 25, in effect dropping sanctions that excluded it following the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The Assembly voted in favour of a report that will allow the return the delegation from Russia with 118 for, 62 against, and 10 abstentions. Ukraine’s delegation protested the deicsion loudly but were unable to convince their colleagues. The decision is only the second set of sanctions on Russia that have dropped since 2014. In December the US Treasury Department (USTD) deiced to drop the April of last year round of sanctions that specifically targeted Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and his Rusal aluminium producer, as the sanctions were found to be unworkable. Excluding Russia would be a blow of human rights as Russia is now the only major European power that is not a member or either Nato or the European Union (EU). Expelling it would also mean it would no longer have to adhere to decisions made in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
A “Five Eyes” nation — either the United States or one of its 4 closest intelligence partners — has conducted a cyberattack on Russia’s biggest Internet company in December, Yandex, Reuters reported citing sources. The company, often called “Russia’s Google” because of its offerings of search, mail and taxi services, has confirmed on Thursday that it was subject to a cyberattack in December but said no user data was compromised. The attack was caught at an early stage and “neutralized” it before any damage could be done, Yandex said. While major Internet companies are regularly subject to cyberattacks, Reuters reported this particular hack was undertaken by individuals working for Western intelligence agencies. The hackers installed a rare type of malware used by Western intelligence agencies in an attempt to spy on users, the agency said, citing unidentified sources. U.S. security agencies declined to comment.
Russian president Vladimir Putin told the Financial Times that “liberalism is dead” as an idea in an interview ahead of the G20 in Osaka, Japan, that kicks off on June 28. “There is also the so-called liberal idea, which has outlived its purpose. Our Western partners have admitted that some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable,” Putin said. Read the full transcript of the interview here.
The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of US centrist Democratic lawmakers, have proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia, Bloomberg reported on June 21 citing a press release from the group. The package includes such measures as sanctions on Russian sovereign debt, Russian banks and Russian-backed LNG projects and would be imposed under a legislative package aiming to hold Russia accountable for election interference
19 RUSSIA Country Report July 2019 www.intellinews.com