The second package of US sanctions against Russia, prepared in connection with the case of the poisoning of Sergei and Julia Skripale in the British city of Salisbury, will enter into force on Monday, August 26. This is stated in the notification of the US State Department, published in the electronic database of the Federal Register of the country.
“These measures must be implemented by the relevant ministries and departments of the United States government and will be valid for at least one year until further notice,” the statement reads.
The document itself will be published on August 26, after which the restrictive measures will enter into force. As specified in the notification, sanctions are introduced due to the fact that Russia's actions do not comply with the provisions of the US law "On the control of chemical and biological weapons and the ban on their military use." It is emphasized that such a conclusion at the end of March was made by the head of the diplomatic department of the United States Michael Pompeo.
The Federation Council called the next expansion of sanctions an attempt by the United States to prevent the loss of its position in the world.
“The United States has one policy - containing Russia at any cost. They are losing ground in the world, they are feeling it and are trying to restore their shaky position this way. I think that we will survive these sanctions, as all others have. We will not be nervous, we know where to move, I think that we will only get stronger from this, ”said Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, RT.
In his opinion, Washington is aware of the futility of such restrictions, but they cannot depart from this line.
Note that in this case we are not talking about new sanctions. The introduction of these measures was announced in early August in connection with the fact that Moscow allegedly "used chemical and biological weapons in violation of international law relating to chemical weapons against its own citizens."
So, American banks were banned from participating in the initial public offering of Russian sovereign debt not denominated in rubles, and not providing loans to the Russian government in rubles. Along with this, the USA requires international financial organizations, such as the World Bank and the IMF, not to provide loans to Russia. In addition, restrictions are introduced on the export to Russia of a number of materials, goods and equipment, the turnover of which is controlled by the US Department of Commerce.
No evidence
At the same time, earlier, the deputy head of Scotland Yard, Neil Basu, reported that the British police did not have evidence of the possible involvement of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Salisbury incident in March 2018. Then the ex-colonel of the GRU Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were found unconscious not far from their home. London later stated that they were exposed to the A-234 chemical warfare agent (in the West it is called "Novice").
“We are police officers, so we need to work with evidence. There were many hypotheses about who was responsible, who gave orders. All this was based on expert estimates in Russia. I need to have evidence, ”said Basu.
Recall that almost immediately after the Salisbury incident, the British authorities accused Moscow of poisoning the Russians. Subsequently, the United States and a number of other countries supported this position, but no evidence was provided of Russia's involvement.
“Will require a response”
According to Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma’s committee on international affairs, this is yet another “act of the West’s most powerful provocation against Russia.”
The Sanction Club has become one of Washington’s main tools for promoting its own interests in world markets. These are dirty and dishonest competitive methods. All this only, unfortunately, widens the gap in the Russian-American dialogue, ”the parliamentarian emphasized.
Experts believe that the next sanctions may have some effect on the trade and economic balance in the world, but it will not be very significant.
“These sanctions can be called unmotivated aggression. It is clear that they are being introduced on far-fetched occasions, solely on the basis that Russia does not react to them in any way and does not intend to change its policy. The introduction of these sanctions is regrettable, since they will affect the trade and economic balance, the investment climate, and are likely to require retaliatory measures from Russia. And they, in turn, can become very sensitive for the American establishment, ”said Alexei Mukhin, director general of the Center for Political Information, RT.
As a member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia Bogdan Bezpalko noted, in general, the Russian economy has already adapted to the existence of American restrictions.
“It is likely that the introduction of the second package will affect the ruble against the dollar, but not significantly. In general, the Russian economy has long adapted to sanctions and can no longer have a significant impact on our economy, ”explained Bezpalko RT.
In his opinion, the adoption of the second package of sanctions was more of an internal political step. “Obviously, under the pressure of a certain part of the American establishment, Trump had to introduce this package of sanctions, most likely, in exchange for certain steps within the United States itself. Now everything is compounded by the fact that Trump needs to be re-elected for a new presidential term. After all, in fact, the election campaign has already started, ”summed up Bezpalko.
Recall that the first US sanctions package in the Skripals case was introduced a year ago, on August 27, 2018. Within its framework, the provision of external assistance to Russia, the sale of weapons and the financing of such transactions, the export of dual-use goods and technologies was prohibited. In addition, any US government agencies do not have the right to issue any loans, credit guarantees and financial assistance to the Russian Federation.