The U.S. Government Lifts Sanctions on Several Russian Companies

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that sanctions against several Russian companies linked to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska have been lifted. Democrats, who hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, strongly opposed this action. The U.S. Treasury statement was released on January 27. The U.S. government stated that the sanctions were lifted because the aluminum company 'Rusal', which is dependent on Deripaska, as well as the company 'EN+ Group' and the energy company 'EuroSibEnergo', have ultimately 'reduced Deripaska's direct and indirect stake in their companies and limited his control over them.' The U.S. Treasury claims that 'this action ensures that a significant portion of the management of EN+ and Rusal will be in the hands of independent managers - including American and European citizens - who have no business, family, or professional ties to Deripaska and other sanctioned individuals.' Oleg Deripaska and six other influential individuals in Russia were added to the U.S. sanctions list in April of this year, accused of supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to 'undermine Western democracies.' At that time, 12 companies owned by these individuals, two other companies, and 17 senior Russian officials were also sanctioned. In response, Russia declared that these actions 'and any other anti-Russian attacks will not go unanswered.' The Russian Foreign Ministry stated, 'We would like to advise Washington to abandon the illusion that it can talk to us about the time of sanctions.' The Russian government is accused of attempting to interfere in the elections of several Western countries through campaigns on social media, some media outlets, hacking, cyberattacks, and other actions in recent years, aiming to 'damage democracies.' Moscow is also accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections, which it denies. Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, stated in May that 'Rusal has felt the impact of U.S. sanctions due to its connection to Oleg Deripaska. However, the goal of U.S. sanctions is not to target the hardworking individuals who work for this company and its subsidiaries.' Ultimately, in December, the U.S. Treasury announced that it would lift sanctions against the giant Rusal and two other companies, but Oleg Deripaska would remain on the sanctions list. About two weeks ago, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution aimed at preventing the lifting of sanctions. However, considering previous actions that did not receive Senate approval, this vote was more symbolic than executable. The Trump administration had lobbied extensively to prevent the final approval of these restrictive measures. Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives, while Republicans hold a majority in the Senate. Critics of Trump argue that he has given too many concessions to Moscow without receiving anything in return, while Trump claims that no previous U.S. president has been as tough on Russia as he has.