Tillerson: The U.S. Plans to Impose More Sanctions on Russian Nationals

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, in response to criticisms from both parties regarding the delay in implementing the Russia sanctions law, stated that the government intends to impose more sanctions on Russian nationals. Mr. Tillerson said in an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday that "we have taken actions that have prevented several Russian arms transactions as a result of the implementation of new regulations." He added that "we are evaluating adding more Russian nationals to the sanctions list." Recently, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed the law known as the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act," which not only reinforced existing sanctions against Russia but also mandated that any changes or lifting of sanctions must first be approved by Congress. Donald Trump, who defended improving U.S.-Russia relations during his campaign, was compelled to sign this bill into law, but its implementation has been delayed beyond the set deadline of October 1, 2017. Last week, the U.S. Treasury Secretary reported to the Senate Finance Committee that in retaliation for Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential elections, new sanctions against several wealthy Russians would soon be imposed. The Russian government has consistently denied interfering in U.S. elections. Steven Mnuchin stated, "We are actively working on these sanctions and they will be implemented in the near future." In another part of his interview, Rex Tillerson discussed allegations regarding the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against U.S.-backed rebels. When asked about "six instances of chlorine gas attacks in the past 30 days," he replied, "Yes, that is correct, and we have stated that we believe Russia has a special responsibility in this matter because it had committed to destroy all chemical weapons and ensure that nothing from these weapons remained." The U.S. Secretary of State added, "I think the only difference (compared to the previous U.S. administration) is that such actions will have consequences, and President Trump has made it clear that there will be consequences." When asked about a potential "military action" by the U.S. in response to the use of chemical weapons, he said, "We are very serious about our condition that the use of chemical weapons should not become prevalent or normalized in any war." Despite evidence and expert conclusions regarding the use of chemical weapons by Bashar al-Assad, the Russian government has denied the use of these weapons by Syrian government forces.