Russian Foreign Ministry: New US Sanctions Are a Serious Threat to Bilateral Relations

The Russian Foreign Ministry states that the new sanctions imposed by the US Congress against several citizens and entities of Russia represent a 'serious threat' to the relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has canceled the meeting scheduled for Friday between the deputy foreign ministers of the US and Russia. On June 14, the US Senate approved an amendment to the Iran sanctions bill, which includes new sanctions against Russia. These sanctions are linked to accusations against Moscow regarding its actions in Ukraine and Syria. According to this amendment, the lifting of sanctions from the Obama era by the current President will also require Congressional approval. The statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry was released on July 1, following a phone conversation between Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson, the foreign ministers of Russia and the United States. Among the individuals and entities targeted by the recent sanctions, 38 are related to Russia's actions in Ukrainian territory. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin stated that the goal is to encourage 'Russia to cooperate towards a political solution.' In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that 'such actions pose a serious risk to the overall relations between Russia and the US, which are already going through a difficult period without these sanctions.' The day before this statement, Moscow announced the cancellation of the meeting between the deputy foreign ministers of both countries in 'protest' against the Senate's approval of the sanctions. Sergey Ryabkov and Thomas Shannon were scheduled to meet in St. Petersburg on Friday. The US State Department has refrained from providing details about the phone conversation between Tillerson and Lavrov, but Heather Nauert, the department's spokesperson, expressed regret over the cancellation of the deputy ministers' meeting. Nauert stated that this meeting was related to a 'channel' established in April to discuss 'minor issues': 'It is up to Russia to comment on the cancellation, but we regret this situation.' Nauert emphasized in response to reporters that there was no intention to discuss sanctions during the St. Petersburg meeting between Shannon and Ryabkov: 'Russia knows the reasons for these sanctions... due to their actions in Crimea and in eastern Ukraine.' She added that if Moscow is attempting to lift the sanctions, it must address these issues. Russia unilaterally annexed Crimea, which is part of Ukraine. In the US, there are ongoing accusations regarding Russia's interference in its elections. Moscow is accused of supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine and is a key supporter of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, from which the US has called for his removal from power. Russia has denied allegations of interference in US elections and supporting militants and rebels in eastern Ukraine, stating that its intervention in Syria was at the request of the official government to combat terrorism. The President of Russia stated on June 17 that US sanctions complicate relations between the two countries and could potentially 'harm' them. It appears that, after a few days, the reaction and tone of the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement have become harsher than Putin's remarks. Concurrently, 28 EU member states also agreed on Thursday to extend the current EU sanctions against Russia for another six months. The EU sanctions were imposed in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea and accusations against Moscow regarding support for rebels in eastern Ukraine. According to the United Nations, the Ukraine crisis has resulted in over ten thousand deaths so far.