US senators submit bill on new sanctions against Russia

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW, Feb 14 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Democratic and Republican senators have submitted a draft bill on new sanctions against the Russian banking and energy sectors and its debt, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The sanctions are aimed at punishing Russia for alleged meddling with the U.S. elections, alleged wrongdoings in Syria, and the situation in Ukraine, including a recent incident in the Kerch Strait where Russian sailors fired shots with live ammunition and detained Ukrainian sailors who breached Russia’s naval border and did not respond to demands to stop the intrusion.

The bill will slap sanctions against the Russian banks that support meddling with the U.S. elections, against Russian liquefied gas projects outside Russia, against Russia’s cyber sector, against all new deals with Russian debt, against all individuals who conduct corrupt operations in the favor of the Russian authorities, and against production of crude oil in the country, according to the statement.

The bill imposes sanctions on 24 agents of the Federal Security Service who were allegedly involved in the Kerch strait incident, and Russian shipbuilding, if Moscow violates the principles of free navigation in the strait.

The bill, proposed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, is a tougher edition of a bill they proposed last year that failed to pass the Congress.

“Our goal is to change the status quo and impose meaningful sanctions and measures against Putin’s Russia. He should cease and desist meddling in the U.S. electoral process, halt cyberattacks on American infrastructure, remove Russia from Ukraine, and stop efforts to create chaos in Syria,” Graham said as quoted by Reuters.

Russian Senator Oleg Morozov said that the proposed sanctions stand against the principles of free competition and international legislation. “The reason for that is absurd, as they have already ‘punished’ us for ‘interference’ in Ukraine. The thing here is not in justification of these sanctions, they simply want to introduce them at any cost,” he said.

Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov said that Moscow will retaliate if Washington imposes the new sanctions. Nevertheless, the sanctions will not inflict critical damage on the affected industries, he said.

International rating agency Moody’s Vice President and Senior Credit Officer Denis Perevezentsev told PRIME that the impact on the Russian oil sector will depend on the wording of the sanctions. Russian oil companies already operate under sanctions, and further restrictions may have a negative impact on the companies’ ability to create alliances with foreign companies, he said.

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