WASHINGTON – The United States is expected to impose sanctions as early as Tuesday to punish Russia for poisoning Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, two sources familiar with the matter said.
President Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions for Navalny’s poisoning reflects a tougher stance than his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let the incident pass last August without US sanctions.
Navalny fell ill while on a flight in Siberia in August and was airlifted to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nerve agent. The Kremlin has denied any role in his illness, saying it had seen no evidence that he had been poisoned.
On the condition of anonymity, the sources said on Monday that the United States was expected to act under two executive orders: 13661, which was issued after Russia’s invasion of Crimea but provides broad authority to attack Russian officials, and 13382, issued in 2005 on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Both orders allow the United States to freeze the targets’ US assets and effectively prevent US companies and individuals from trading with them.
The sources said the Biden administration also planned to act under the US Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, which provides a menu of punitive measures.
The sources said some individuals would be targeted in the sanctions to be announced as early as Tuesday, but declined to name or say what other sanctions could be imposed.
However, they added that Washington would maintain waivers to allow foreign aid and certain export permits for Russia.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of sanctions.
A third source said US action may be coordinated with sanctions the European Union could apply as early as Tuesday.
EU foreign ministers agreed on February 22 to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin, in a largely symbolic response to Navalny’s capture. The EU would formally approve it at the beginning of March.
In the case of Navalny, Trump, whose term ended in January, did nothing to punish Russia. Top UN human rights experts said Monday that Moscow was to blame for the attempt to assassinate Navalny as part of a pattern of attacks on critics to quash dissent.
After receiving medical treatment in Germany, Navalny, 44, returned to Russia in January. He was arrested and later sentenced to more than 2-1 / 2 years in prison for parole violations he said were fabricated.
Biden last month called Navalny’s jail sentence “politically motivated” and called for his release. He has pledged a new and harsh approach to Moscow, saying that the United States would no longer “roll over” in the face of aggressive action from Russia.
Washington and Moscow disagree on a wide variety of issues besides Navalny, such as Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a cyber attack on US government agencies last year that Washington blames Russia. Moscow has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed; Written by Arshad Mohammed; edited by Timothy Heritage and Peter Cooney)