Biden imposes new sanctions on Russia in response to 2020 election interference

Bloomberg

Biden Sanctions Russia, Restrict Purchase of New Debt After Burglary

(Bloomberg) – President Joe Biden has ordered new sanctions against Russia, including restrictions on buying new government debt, in response to allegations that Moscow was behind a hood of SolarWinds Corps and interfered in the US election last year. and individuals, including government and intelligence officials, and six Russian companies providing support to the Russian government’s burglary operations. The US also expelled ten Russian diplomats working in Washington, including some intelligence officials. The Biden government is preventing US financial institutions from participating in the primary market for new debt issued by the Russian central bank, the Ministry of Finance and the sovereign wealth fund. The limits take effect on June 14. Russian bonds have fallen and the ruble has fallen the most since December due to news of impending fines, although the ruble and Russian bonds have recovered from their losses after the sanctions were announced. policy in a speech at 16:30 Jen Psaki, press secretary of the White House, said on Thursday that the government’s response is proportionate to Russia’s actions and that the US goal is not to “escalate” with Russia. “Our goal is to incur costs for what we believe are unacceptable actions by the Russian government,” Psaki said. Psaki said Biden wanted “stable and predictable” relations with Russia, but added: “It remains a difficult relationship. There are conflicting components of it. ‘QuickTake: The Facts and Mystery About Russia’s SolarWinds Hack The sanctions reflect an attempt by the US to balance the desire to punish the Kremlin for past crimes, but also to further aggravate to limit the relationship, especially as tensions grow over a Russian military build-up near Ukraine.The latest moves come days after Biden warned President Vladimir Putin that the US would defend its interests but also offer the possibility of a summit in the In the coming months, with a cautiously positive response from Moscow, Biden, who warned Putin this week about US action, wants to meet with the Russian leader to prevent this. e relations between the two countries further deteriorated, a US official said. Several of the sanctions entities have ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who is “Putin’s chef” for his catering contracts in the Kremlin, and close ties with the president. He controls the Wagner group of mercenaries who fought in Syria and Libya, and deployed to hotspots in Africa and Latin America in support of Kremlin policy. The US Treasury has already approved in December 2018 and last September media channels and other companies linked to Prigozhin. Prigozhin has been under US sanctions since the end of 2016. The new measures in particular were not aimed at new tycoons, something that many in Moscow feared. READ MORE: US sanctions torpedo Russian bonds planned as ‘core option’ RUSSIA INSIGHT: Sanctions now, Summit Later – What It Means Debt restraints Restrictions, as announced on Thursday, that block US investors from buying Russian government debt denominated in rubles have long been seen as the ‘core option’ in financial markets, where the securities, known as OFZs, are a popular investment. Foreigners now own about a fifth of the debt, worth about $ 37 billion, but limiting the limit to new debt sales and not trading on secondary markets will blunt the impact. Russia’s 10-year local bonds have fallen the most since March 2020 in early trading in Moscow, before the decline was cut, while the ruble, which rose on the news of the Biden-Putin call, from 16:45 decreased by 0.7%. In Moscow.QuickTake: All about US sanctions against Putin’s Russia. An executive order signed by Biden gives additional authorities to take action against Russia that the US does not immediately exercise and prefers not to have to use, an administration official said. the era of impunity for the assault of Moscow on the rule of law is over, “said Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, in a statement. Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana called it the right move, saying Russia was “on the verge of disruption.” But some lawmakers said Biden should have gone further. “While these sanctions are a necessary step, I’m concerned that they may not ultimately be a credible deterrent,” Representative Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said Russia had Ambassador convened for what Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said would be a ‘difficult conversation’ after the announcement. She promised an “inevitable” response from Russia, but did not elaborate on what measures would come. But US Ambassador John Sullivan said in a statement that the US was being called upon by the US and that it was “professional and respectful.” “We were clear that we want a stable and predictable relationship with Russia,” Sullivan said in a statement. “However, we were also clear – in public and in private – that we will defend our national interests and the The Russian government will impose costs on its actions that would harm our sovereignty, or our allies, partners and values. ” Russia has vowed to retaliate, and the Kremlin has indicated it is ready to limit the damage and remains open to the White House’s offer of a presidential summit. “The sanctions were moderate and I hope the response will be,” said Kremlin chief Andrey Kortunov. established Russian Council for International Affairs. Russia’s response should not hinder the summit. People understood that sanctions were inevitable. In a potentially conciliatory gesture, the US this week abandoned plans to send two warships into the Black Sea after Russia warned that the move would be ‘extremely challenging’. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said it would be “premature” to talk about easing tensions with Ukraine. Elections, hacking The US has in recent years threatened to impose additional restrictions on Russia to punish the Kremlin for a litigation of transgressions. Psaki said on Thursday that the US had found with “low to moderate confidence” that Russian intelligence officials in 2019 wanted to encourage the Taliban to attack US and coalition personnel in Afghanistan. The sanctions are not specifically linked to intelligence. A U.S. intelligence agency has concluded with a high degree of confidence that Putin and the Russian government have authorized, directed and directed an attempt to influence the 2020 election. Some of the new measures are aimed at outlets controlled by Russian intelligence services, and according to one of the people blamed for spreading disinformation during the 2020 campaign. Other targets include individuals and entities operating on behalf of Moscow outside Russia. The sanctions follow a review that Biden ordered in his first full day in office in four key areas concerning Russia: interference in the 2020 election, reports of Russian abundance on US troops in Afghanistan, the SolarWinds attack and the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The government announced sanctions against Russian officials over Navalny last month, but has so far withheld action in the other three areas. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations. in the election, she poisons critics or is offered to pay premiums for the killing of American troops. Those affected by this sanction include individuals and entities blamed by the U.S. for enabling the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-linked troll farm, that makes coordinated use possible. action on social media in an attempt to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016 malicious cyber-activity of SolarWinds targets about half a dozen entities linked to Russian security services. The US also named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpetrator of the campaign. The attack by hackers who compromised widely used software by SolarWinds in Texas hacked more than 100 U.S. businesses and nine government agencies before being hacked by a cyber security firm. Psaki said on Thursday that the hack allowed Russia to spy on or disrupt 16,000 computer systems worldwide. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com. Sign up now to stay ahead with the most trusted business resource. © 2021 Bloomberg LP

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