Biden Administration Imposes New Sanctions on Russia over the Navalny Case

March 2 , 2021 (EIRNS)—The Biden administration is getting off the starting blocks with a number of firsts on Britain’s policy agenda: They launched their first illegal and unjustified bombing of a sovereign nation, with the Syria attack; and now they have imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia over the Navalny case. The Treasury, State, and Commerce measures included sanctions on seven senior members of the Russian government.

Politico reported that the March 2 “Tuesday’s package is only the first the Biden administration will impose on Russia in response to its malign activity, the [unnamed administration] officials said, and additional penalties will be announced in the coming weeks in response to Russia’s massive hack on U.S. government agencies last year. The administration also plans to respond to intelligence that Russia placed bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, people familiar with the matter said.” A senior administration official told the press today: “From his first phone call with President Putin, President Biden has been clear that the United States will respond to a number of destabilizing Russian actions.”

Zero evidence has been presented that shows Russian government involvement in “poisoning Navalny,” “attempting to kill the Skripals,” or “placing bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.”

CNN was openly delighted:

“These sanctions would be the first costs imposed on Russia by the Biden administration and will set the tone for their policy towards Moscow going forward. They would mark a clear departure from the approach of the Trump administration, which declined to impose penalties over the poisoning and shied away from directly confronting Russia over its nefarious actions.”

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov responded to the threat of new sanctions by stating:

“I still think that one should wait [for sanctions] and then we will react depending on [their] content and nature. It can be anything, you see, we cannot gauge which factors will influence Washington’s mindset.... We will see what the bottom line is, in the end, and then on our part will evaluate what and how to accept and how to react.”