Russia Says It Will Not Leave New US Sanctions Unanswered

On Friday, April 6, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it would respond decisively to the new US sanctions against Russian companies and senior officials. The US claims to have sanctioned 24 officials and influential figures in Russia due to the country's 'malicious actions.' These influential figures, who were added to the US sanctions list on Friday, are accused of supporting President Vladimir Putin's efforts to undermine Western democracies. According to Reuters, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated, 'We will not leave current actions and any other anti-Russian attacks without a tough response. However, we would like to advise Washington to abandon the illusion that it can speak to us in the time of sanctions.' The statement added that pressures will not change Russia's approach and that sanctions will only lead to greater unity within Russian society. The Russian Foreign Ministry claims that the new US sanctions target companies that have had extensive and long-standing trade relations with the US. Under these sanctions, the assets and properties of these individuals and companies in the US will be frozen, and US citizens are prohibited from cooperating and trading with them. In this context, the US Treasury announced on Friday that the new sanctions were imposed due to Russia's malicious actions, including its approach in Ukraine, support for Bashar al-Assad's regime in the Syrian civil war, and efforts to undermine democracy in the West. US intelligence agencies accused the Russian government last year of interfering in the 2016 US presidential elections, a claim that Russia denies. Reports indicate that seven of those sanctioned by the US on Friday are international businessmen and part of Putin's 'inner circle.' Oleg Deripaska, a Russian aluminum tycoon, and Alexey Miller, the head of the Gazprom oil and gas company, are among those sanctioned. In addition to these seven individuals, 12 companies owned by them and 17 other senior Russian officials are also on the new sanctions list, along with two other Russian companies. The recent sanctions imposed by the US against Moscow and Vladimir Putin's associates are based on the 'Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act' or 'CAATSA.' This law, passed last summer, allows the US government to sanction Russia for its annexation of Crimea, support for Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, and its possible interference in the 2016 US elections.