The United States and Great Britain are going to impose more sanctions against Russia “for the use of chemical weapons” under the so-called Magnitsky Act. Bloomberg reports this, citing sources.
Washington and London are discussing the introduction of new measures against Moscow, which may include “Russian oligarchs”. It is also clarified that the administration of US President Joe Biden does not exclude the possibility of imposing sanctions against the Russian national debt.
According to the newspaper, Biden intends to consider imposing sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt if Washington finds that Moscow “is again violating the ban on the use of chemical weapons.” However, the United States can do this in cooperation with Europe.
One of the reasons for additional measures, according to the publication, may be that Russia “will continue to obstruct” the investigation into the poisoning of Alexei Navalny (founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund, included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent). In this case, the United States will be able to use the global list of the “Magnitsky Act”.
In 2018, the US Treasury spoke out against the extension of sanctions on Russia’s sovereign debt, warning of the negative consequences of this step for global financial markets.
Earlier, senators called on US President Joe Biden to impose sanctions against companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The Magnitsky Act was adopted during the administration of US President Barack Obama in 2012 to pressure Russia, and then was expanded to all countries of the world. The Global Magnitsky Act allows for the imposition of personal sanctions (account blocking and visa restrictions) against individuals who, according to the US government, are involved in human rights abuses. At the same time, the names of those against whom restrictive measures are introduced are made public. Subsequently, the “Magnitsky laws” were introduced in several other countries.