The toughest restrictions: the US changed the terms of imposing 'sanctions from hell' against Russia

Now, the conditions for introducing and lifting restrictions from Russia are spelled out in the DASKA sanction bill, several new sections are also included in the document. One of them involves the imposition of sanctions for "murders committed by Russia," writes RBC.

Photo: Depositphotossanc

An updated version of the DASKA sanction bill, which includes the most stringent restrictions against Russia, has appeared on the website of the US Congress. The text has been amended by Senators Lindsay Graham and Robert Menendez, which establish the procedure for introducing and lifting sanctions.

The original version of the document did not spell out the procedure for imposing sanctions. Senators suggested making the imposition of sanctions unconditional: restrictions on Russia should have been introduced automatically after the signing of the document by the US president. Graham - Menendez amendments establish the theoretical possibility of refusing to impose sanctions.

DASKA involves the imposition of sanctions against Russia for two reasons: interference in US domestic politics and aggression against Ukraine. In accordance with the amendments, sanctions against Russia in the first direction will be introduced only after intelligence and the State Department jointly confirm that Russia has intervened in the internal politics of the United States. Their report should be submitted within 90 days after signing the bill. The lifting of sanctions will occur if intelligence and the State Department submit a report in which they prove. that there was no such interference.

On the subject: 27 people executed without trial: US imposed sanctions against the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the capital of Chechnya

A similar principle applies under sanctions due to Ukraine. After signing the bill, the State Department and National Intelligence must submit a report within 45 days, which will indicate whether Russia is participating in hostilities against Ukraine, supporting them or not. In the future, the diplomatic department and intelligence will have to submit similar reports to the Senate every 90 days.

Sanctions due to Ukraine and interference are imposed on Russian LNG projects abroad, on the state debt of Russia, banks supporting “interference in democratic processes”, shipbuilding companies, etc. Due to the brutality of the proposed measures, this bill was called “sanctions from hell” at the time it was introduced.

Graham and Menendez, as amended, added a few more points to the bill. So, a section appeared in it that states that the US’s goal with respect to NATO should be “concluding an agreement whereby NATO members should not acquire defense technologies that are incompatible with the security of alliance systems.” The incompatibility of Russian technologies and systems of the North Atlantic Alliance was one of the reasons for criticism of Turkey after the acquisition of Russian S-400 air defense systems. Sanctions this section does not imply.

Another new section is entitled “The imposition of sanctions in the light of the killings committed by the Russian Federation in the United States and NATO member countries.” According to him, no later than 90 days “after the alleged assassination by the authorities of the Russian Federation”, the director of national intelligence in cooperation with the authorities of the NATO countries should prepare a report for the senate whether this crime was really organized by the authorities of Russia. In the presence of "convincing evidence" that it was Moscow that was involved in the murder, the US president should impose sanctions in accordance with the Magnitsky Act. This section may refer to cases of poisoning of ex-GRU officer Sergei Skripal in the UK in March 2018, in which the US and UK authorities accused Russian intelligence, and to the murder in Berlin this August of a Georgian citizen and Chechen fighter Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, on charges in which they detained a Russian citizen suspected of working for special services.

On the subject: Hundreds of companies from the USA and Europe violate sanctions while working in annexed Crimea

Another new article in the bill obliges national intelligence, together with the State Department and the Ministry of Defense, to prepare a report on Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigogine and related structures. To them, in particular, senators carried PMCs Wagner. Also, intelligence, the State Department and the military should establish the involvement of the Wagner Group in the murder of Russian journalists.

In addition, through the amendments, senators accused Russia of undermining the work of the UN Security Council. The authors indicated that Russia, for example, has vetoed 12 draft resolutions on Syria in recent years. In this regard, the State Department must also report on measures that Washington can take to counter actions in the UN Security Council.

The State Department has already criticized the Graham - Menendez amendments. The day before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee approved DASKA, the agency sent a letter to the senators, which called the bill unacceptable in its current form for the White House. The State Department explained this by the fact that DASKA is redundant and does not allow Washington to be flexible with respect to Russia. So, the State Department pointed out that the administration may not have a chance to convince the Senate to lift the sanctions. So, if the US authorities do not have information that Russia interfered in the election, this can be interpreted as the lack of evidence that Russia did not interfere in the election. This may allow the Senate to ban the lifting of sanctions.

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