US renews sanctions on Belarusian president

AFP, Washington

Published: 15 March ,2022: 07:55 PM GST

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko looks on as he inspects military facilities outside Luninets, Belarus on January 21, 2022. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday reauthorized sanctions against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and targeted several senior Russian defense officials as it seeks to punish countries that supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The United States, with support from allies and partners, is taking action to promote accountability for the Russian and Belarusian governments’ human rights abuses and violations within and outside their borders,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Washington again condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “premeditated, unjustified, and unprovoked war against Ukraine,” as well as Lukashenko’s “support and facilitation of the Russian Federation’s invasion,” he said.

Lukashenko has been under US sanctions since 2006, and Washington has tightened restrictions on his government and the country’s economy in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine late last month.

The US Treasury described Lukashenko as “the head of a corrupt government in Belarus whose patronage network benefits his inner circle and regime.”

The latest measures freeze his assets, block any transactions with American entities, and ban his entry into the US. The penalties also affect his wife, two adult sons and a minor son.

Treasury also announced new sanctions against top defense officials in Russia, including eight deputy ministers of defense as well as the director general of a state-controlled organization that trades military goods internationally.

Among the officials is Viktor Zolotov, head of Moscow’s National Guard, which Blinken said “has cracked down on Russian citizens who have taken to the streets to protest their government’s brutal campaign in Ukraine” and also is “responsible for suppressing dissent in occupied areas of” Russia’s neighbor.

Two members of Russia’s Federal Security Agency are sanctioned for their involvement in torture, the State Department said, while six others are targeted for attacks on dissidents from Chechnya living in Europe.

Washington also imposed visa restrictions on 25 people it said were involved in “undermining democracy in Belarus.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/03/15/-US-renews-sanctions-on-Belarusian-president-

Russia sanctions Biden, Trudeau, US, Canadian officials

 

Published: 15 March ,2022: 10:15 PM GSTUpdated: 15 March ,2022: 10:19 PM GST

Russia’s foreign ministry announced sanctions on US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Tuesday alongside several officials in a reciprocal response to Western measures.

The measures, also applied to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, “are the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by” Washington, Moscow said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Russia’s foreign ministry announced punitive measures against 313 Canadians including Trudeau and several of his ministers.

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In response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the US banned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov while adopting sanctions largely cutting Russia off from the rest of the world financially.

Moscow did not specify the exact nature of the measures, which it calls “personal sanctions” and a “stop list,” stating that they would be based on “the principle of reciprocity.”

Also on the Russian list are US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

On the list too are Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and US Export-Import Bank chief Reta Jo Lewis.

Russia also banned from entry Biden’s son Hunter and former secretary of state and Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The foreign ministry warned Moscow will soon announce additional sanctions against a range of “Russophobic” US officials, military officers, lawmakers, businessmen and media personalities.

 

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/03/15/Russia-sanctions-Biden-Trudeau-US-Canadian-officials-Rus

Russia to spend $9 billion to rebuild supply chains, prime minister says

 

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin chairs a meeting on improving Russia's economic resilience amid the sanctions, in Moscow, Russia March 11, 2022. Sputnik/Alexander Astafyev/Pool via REUTERS

March 15 (Reuters) - Russia plans to spend 1 trillion roubles ($9 billion) on what it refers to as anti-crisis measures, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Tuesday, as the government tries to at least partially offset the impact of fresh western sanctions.

The plan includes more than 100 proposals and is to be updated, Mishustin said, to rebuild production and supply chains.

In particular, Russia wants countries forming the Eurasian Economic Union, or Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, to increase limits for duty-free online purchases, fix the forex rate for import duties and prioritise goods including food, pharmaceutical products and equipment when it comes to custom checks.

Russia was largely cut-off from the global financial system and traditional supply chains after western nations imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow following its invasion to Ukraine on Feb. 24, sending the rouble to record-lows and boosting inflation.

($1 = 110.5070 roubles)

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-spend-9-bln-rebuild-supply-chains-pm-says-2022-03-15/