Russia | Biden severely punishes Moscow and expels ten Russian ambassadors

(Washington) After the outstretched hand, the counter-attack: US government Joe Biden announced on Thursday that a series of severe financial sanctions against Russia and the expulsion of ten Russian ambassadors risks complicating the program of the summit with Vladimir Putin.

NATO “Support”

In addition, the White House says the Treasury bans 32 companies and accused individuals on behalf of the Russian government “to influence the 2020 presidential election in the United States.”

In addition, the US government, along with the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, has imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities “associated with the continuing occupation and repression in Crimea.”

For its part, the US State Department expelled ten officials from the Russian embassy, ​​some of whom were accused of being members of the Moscow intelligence service.

All of these sanctions are also aimed at holding Russian officials “accountable” in the wake of Russia’s budget allegations against the Taliban for attacking US or foreign troops in Afghanistan.

These allegations were put off by Donald Trump in the face of leaks. So, this is the first time that Washington has gone so far as to accuse Moscow of playing a role.

But the White House is ambiguous only that the affair is “managed by diplomatic, military and intelligence channels.”

The sanctions come on top of the first series of punitive measures announced in March against seven senior Russian officials, in response to the poisoning and imprisonment of rival Alexei Navalny.

NATO countries expressed their “support and solidarity” with the United States “immediately after the announcement of measures to respond to Russia’s instability.”

Summoned by the American ambassador

This is one of the most serious attacks on Russia since the expulsion of several diplomats at the end of Barack Obama’s term.

The answer did not take long.

“Such aggressive behavior will receive a strong denial. Responding to sanctions will be inevitable,” Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned.

The U.S. ambassador to Moscow was summoned by authorities for a “tough conversation”.

“The United States is not prepared to accept the objective reality of a multipolar world that relies on US domination and sanctions and interference in our internal affairs,” the spokesman lamented.

Russia has already warned that the adoption of the new sanctions will not “favor” the Biden-Putin summit, which is seen as beginning to stabilize the strained relations between the two geopolitical rivals.

The Kremlin appears to have been disappointed after being satisfied with the possibility of such a summit proposed by the president of the New Democrats as a “third country” and “in the coming months”. The offer was made during a telephone conversation between the two leaders this week, marked by a U.S. warning following the massive deployment of Russian troops across the Ukrainian border.

The most spectacular move announced on Thursday is expected to have a limited effect on debt, with limited debt and reserves in Russia exceeding $ 180 billion, boosted by its hydrocarbon exports. However, it will hurt the ruble on Thursday autumn, and is already in trouble since the first sanctions adopted in 2014.

“It’s a storm in a glass of water. For more than ten years, the policy of the Russian monetary authorities has been aimed at keeping the budget deficit to a minimum, ”economist Sergei Gestanov told the AFP, stressing that Moscow had been prepared for it” for a long time. ”

Relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated exponentially since the new US president took office in January. Russian Ambassador to the United States Joe Biden recalled after condemning his opponent as a “murderer.”