US imposes wide array of sanctions on Russia

THE United States yesterday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia to punish it for alleged interference in the 2020 U.S. election, cyber-hacking, bullying Ukraine and other “malign” acts.

The measures blacklisted Russian companies, expelled Russian diplomats and placed limits on the Russian sovereign debt market. More penalties could come, although Washington did not want to escalate matters, the Biden administration said.

Moscow reacted angrily, saying this dangerously raised the temperature between the two countries. It summoned the U.S. ambassador for what it said would be a tough conversation.

Among the actions, President Joe Biden issue an executive order authorising the U.S. government to sanction any sector of the Russian economy and used it to restrict Russia’s ability to issue sovereign debt to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2020 U.S. election, an allegation Russia denies.

Biden barred U.S. financial institutions from taking part in the primary market for rouble-denominated Russian sovereign bonds from June 14. U.S. banks have been barred from taking part in the primary market for non-rouble sovereign bonds since 2019.

The U.S. Treasury also blacklisted 32 entities and individuals which it said had carried out Russian government-directed attempts to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election and other “acts of disinformation and interference”.

In concert with the European Union, Britain, Australia and Canada, the Treasury also sanctioned eight individuals associated with Russia’s ongoing occupation and repression in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman said Moscow would respond to the sanctions in the near future.

Russia denies meddling in U.S. elections and orchestrating a cyber hack that used U.S. tech company SolarWinds Corp SWI.N to penetrate U.S. government networks. It also denies using a nerve agent to poison Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

It has brushed off allegations that it put bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

“We have repeatedly warned the United States about the consequences of their hostile steps which dangerously raise the temperature of confrontation between our two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters. — Reuters.