Breaking News: Trump imposes major sanctions on Russian oligarchs, officials, companies

April 6, 2018 By administrator

major sanctions on Russian

The Trump administration took one of its most aggressive actions against Russia on Friday, announcing sweeping sanctions on seven oligarchs, over two dozen top officials and several Russian businesses, including a state-owned weapons trading company.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin cited a number of Russian activities around the world as reasons for the tough U.S. action, including Moscow’s occupation of Crimea, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, and efforts to “interfere in the democratic processes of the United States and its allies.”

Newspaper: Armenia to appear under sanctions?

February 14, 2018 By administrator

YEREVAN. – The US has notified the Republic of Armenia (RA) government about the risk of becoming a target of sanctions, in case of signing “substantial deals” with Russian military industry companies, according to Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Times) newspaper.

“Embassy of the United States of America in Yerevan informed about this, in response to Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper’s inquiry.

‘“There was a notification to the governments and private companies of other countries that in case of substantial deals sealed with the Russian companies that are on the list, sanctions may be applied. We do not discuss our sanctions in advance. We announce these sanctions whenever there is, and if any,’ the embassy press service noted in response to the question as to whether Armenia could appear on the target of those sanctions, and whether discussions on the topic are underway with the RA authorities,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.

Iraq once again controls own economy, free of UN sanctions

December 27, 2017 By administrator

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi addresses the session “A Vision for Iraq,” Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 23, 2015.

By Adnan Abu Zeed,

BAGHDAD — The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has agreed to lift sanctions imposed on Iraq when the country invaded Kuwait 27 years ago.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Dec. 9 the country had completed its obligations under the sanctions, which were imposed in 1990 when dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. The UNSC levied the penalties after naming Iraq a threat to international security and ordered it to pay reparations to states and other parties that suffered as a result of the invasion.

Some 27 years later, Iraq is still suffering the effects of the invasion. Hisham al-Rukabi, the head of Vice President Nouri al-Maliki’s press office, told Al-Monitor that the Iraqi people welcomed the recent UN decision.

Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesman for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said the move is “an important event in Iraq’s recent history and the closing of a painful [age] that lasted a long time, during which the Iraqi people suffered reduced sovereignty as well as political and economic sanctions that damaged the country’s institutions as well as individuals.”

Lifting the sanctions, he said, “will make Iraq more able to develop and achieve prosperity for its citizens, and restore the world’s trust so it can deal with Iraq as a fully sovereign nation.”

He predicted the decision will allow Iraq to play a greater political and economic role in the Middle East, experience an economic recovery and attract new investment.

Iraq has long suffered the consequences of the sanctions, which were enforced militarily any time Iraq posed a threat to international peace. The country was economically cut off from the world, and its sea, air, land and communications links were severed. Its diplomatic relations with other states were cut, and it lost control of its financial resources and oil exports, which were placed under UN supervision under the oil for food program. A significant proportion of its revenues were used to pay states harmed by its Kuwait invasion.

“Iraq paid reparations to the states that were environmentally and economically harmed by the war, including Israel and Jordan,” but its reparations stalled in 2014 because of the fall in oil prices, according to legal expert Tareq Harb. “The government’s deal with Kuwait to pay the remainder of reparations in the form of gas exported via Basra prompted Kuwait to report to the UN that Iraq was fulfilling its obligations, resulting in a resolution in Iraq’s favor.”

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said Dec. 10 that the 10-year deal with Iraq provides for imports of 50 million cubic feet of natural gas a day in the first stage, later rising to 200 million. The deal appears to have been the key factor that persuaded Kuwait to call for the UN to lift the sanctions.

Iraqi parliament member Jassem Mohammad Jaafar, who is close to Abadi, gave Al-Monitor more details on the deal. “Before the sanctions were lifted, Iraq was not even able to open foreign bank accounts in the name of the government, and its economic and financial contracts and commercial activities were conducted through intermediaries in order to avoid lawsuits. That cost the Iraqi treasury enormously,” he said.

“From now on, Iraq can manage the legal and technical aspects of its financial resources itself — along with everything relating to deposits and foreign real estate holdings — and dispose of its own affairs,” he said. “Other countries will no longer hesitate to invest in Iraq, and foreign firms will be encouraged, as Iraq is an oil-rich country and also has major gas reserves and swathes of agricultural land that could be very profitable.”

Iraqi writer and analyst Wathiq al-Jabari, a member of the Tanmiya Center, told Al-Monitor that the resolution will have “positive social effects.”

“All efforts to freeze Iraqi funds in international banks have ended, which will enhance Iraq’s financial standing and its creditworthiness,” he said.

The decision to lift sanctions coincided with Abadi’s announcement Dec. 9 that the fight against the Islamic State was over and security and stability had returned to Iraq. He also played up the country’s investment climate now that it can once again work with international firms and banks. With its vast oil reserves, Iraq can look forward to an economic revival, providing the government is able to bring stability and work fast to stamp out violence and terrorism.

Breaking News: Putin, Responding to Sanctions, Orders U.S. to Cut Diplomatic Staff by 755

July 30, 2017 By administrator

President Vladimir V. Putin on Sunday in St. Petersburg. Credit Olga Maltseva/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR,

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin announced on Sunday that the number of workers at American diplomatic posts in Russia would be cut by 755 by Sept. 1, escalating the tensions between Washington and Moscow.

Although the reduction had been announced on Friday, in response to the new law passed in Congress last week expanding sanctions against Russia, the president’s statement was the first to confirm the large number of embassy personnel involved.

Speaking in a television interview on the Rossiya 1 network, Mr. Putin said that Russia’s patience in waiting for improved relations with the United States had worn out.

“We waited for quite some time that maybe something will change for the better, had such hope that the situation will somehow change, but, judging by everything, if it changes, it will not be soon,” Mr. Putin said in the interview, according to Interfax news agency.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/world/europe/russia-sanctions-us-diplomats-expelled.html?emc=edit_na_20170730&nl=breaking-news&nlid=49769097&ref=headline

Breaking News: Obama Imposes Sanctions on Russia for Alleged Hacking of Election

December 29, 2016 By administrator

Despite a glaring lack of evidence to support allegations that Russia interfered in the US presidential election, the White House has announced that they will be imposing sanctions on the nation.

On Thursday, the US sanctioned six Russian individuals, including the head of Russia’s main intelligence directorate, as well as five entities. The US is also expelling 35 Russian diplomats, who now have 72 hours to leave the nation.

The five entities sanctioned are the Autonomous Noncommercial Organization Professional Association of Designers of Data Processing Systems, the Federal Security Service, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the Special Technology Center. The Federal Security Service is comparable to the US FBI, meaning that this will effectively block any counter intelligence operations between the two nations. Sanctioned individuals include Igor Valentinovich Korobov, the current Chief of Russia’s main intelligence directorate, the GRU; Sergey Aleksandrovich Gizunov, Deputy Chief of the GRU; Igor Olegovich Kostyukov, a First Deputy Chief of the GRU; and Vladimir Stepanovich Alexseyev, also a First Deputy Chief of the GRU. Additionally, the US will be closing two Russian diplomatic compounds in Maryland and New York, which the US claims were used for intelligence related activities.

“These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia’s aggressive activities. We will continue to take a variety of actions at a time and place of our choosing, some of which will not be publicized,” the White House said in a statement. “In addition to holding Russia accountable for what it has done, the United States and friends and allies around the world must work together to oppose Russia’s efforts to undermine established international norms of behavior, and interfere with democratic governance. To that end, my Administration will be providing a report to Congress in the coming days about Russia’s efforts to interfere in our election, as well as malicious cyber activity related to our election cycle in previous elections.”

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the hacks on the Democratic National Committee or Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The claims have also been disputed by veterans of both the CIA and the NSA. “If hacking were involved, the NSA would know about it, and so they would also know the sender and the recipient,” former CIA analyst Ray McGovern previously told Loud & Clear on Radio Sputnik. “There’s no reason in God’s world why they wouldn’t reveal that if they had it.”

Brussels: Turkey could face economic sanctions

November 13, 2016 By administrator

eu-sanction-on-turkey Hard-line President Recep Tayyip Erdogan risks losing Turkey’s lucrative customs union with the EU, its main trading partner. European Parliament chief Martin Schulz has said economic sanctions are being considered.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz has confirmed rumors in Brussels that EU leaders at their summit in December could opt for economic sanctions in response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ongoing crackdown on dissent – instead of terminating controversial EU accession talks.

Schulz told Germany’s “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper that breaking off talks with Turkey would rob the EU of the channels to help Turkey’s opposition and the tens of thousands held in detention since July’s failed putsch.

Instead, Schulz said: “We as the EU will have to consider which economic measures we can take.”

He warned, however, that should Turkey under Erdogan reintroduce the death penalty – in breach of its obligations within the 47-nation Council of Europe – then accession negotiations “would be ended.”

Trade: Erdogan’s ‘weak spot’

Schulz’s remarks followed a commentary Saturday on German public radio Deutschlandfunk by the Brussels correspondent of “Handelsblatt” Ruth Berschens.

Since the signing of the customs union in 1995, the deal on duty-free exchanges in industrial products had made the EU Turkey’s biggest trading partner, Berschens wrote.

Erdogan has wanted to widen the customs union to include more of the agricultural and service industries, she said.

Should the EU terminate the customs union, subject to renegotiation since 2015, this would amount to a “bitter setback” for many Turkish companies, she wrote.

“His political rise as chief of the governing AKP party was due especially to his successful economic policies. During Erdogan’s [prime ministerial] period of government, a new middle class emerged in Turkey,” Berschens said.

“The president cannot betray their interests; otherwise he could lose political support across the country,” she said.

“That is Erdogan’s ‘weak spot,'” alongside the EU’s deal on refugees reached in March and Turkey’s role as NATO partner hosting troops from alliance nations.

“Exasperation is mounting among Europeans. In Brussels something is brewing. If the Turkish president persists [on his current course] then a decision could be made at the EU summit in December that could hurt Erdogan,” Berschens predicted.

The European Commission had numerous reasons for not breaking off protracted talks on Turkey’s bid for EU accession, she continued, adding that Brussels would walk “into a trap” set by Erdogan.

“The Turkish president is only waiting for the EU to finally place the stool before the door,” said Berschens and added that Europe and especially Germany still had good reputations in Turkey.

“Erdogan doesn’t want to take personal responsibility for a final rupture with Europe, because he would end up in great distress explaining himself to his fellow citizens,” she said. “Many Turks reject a total break with Europe.”

Cumhuriyet head detained

Meanwhile, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said late Saturday that Akin Atalay, the chief executive director of the Turkish opposition newspaper “Cumhuriyet,” had been remanded in custody after returning from Germany.

Nine other “Cumhuriyet” staff and executive members are already under arrest.

Since Ankara declared a state of emergency in July following an attempted coup, some 37,000 people have been arrested in Turkey and more than 100,000 government employees have been dismissed or suspended. More than 170 media outlets have been shut down.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus claimed Saturday that the closures were necessary in order to address multiple terror threats.

French MP Proposes Sanctions Against Turkey Over ‘Siding With Extremists’

November 26, 2015 By administrator

European lawmaker Marie-Christine Arnautu, Vice President for Social Affairs of the National Front spoke to Sputnik in an exclusive interview regarding the downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber by the Turkish Air Force.

“Turkey has created a big problem by attacking the Russian aircraft, which was returning from a mission of combating the terrorists. Turkey has revealed its cards” Arnautu said in an interview.

She further said, “I just raised the question on my website and suggested not only strict sanctions against Turkey but also to stop to all negotiations regarding Turkey’s accession into the EU. It is quite clear that Turkey is sending weapons and money to the Islamists and leaves open its border, which is like a sieve for jihadists. In addition, after this unfortunate incident, which we have just seen I think that Turkey is indeed at war with those who are waging a war against terrorism.”

“This will be a good test for us… we are talking about war, we are at war… We have a pronounced enemy. Now the main question remains which country and what government is really willing to fight together in the first place against this enemy,” the lawmaker told Sputnik.

She added that fast action needs to be taken and according to her the position of French President Francois Hollande is still very blurred and uncertain.

“I think that the meeting between Putin and Hollande will be crucial. After this meeting Hollande will have to make the final choice. Will he give into the pressure of the financial groups; ultimately it all comes to a question of money and oil? Or will he dare to save France and Russia by helping the coalition that really wants to destroy Islamic fundamentalism and then will develop a real alliance with Russia and Syria,” Arnautu told Sputnik.

Slovakia prime minister calls for repealing anti-Russia sanctions

June 2, 2015 By administrator

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called for cancelation of the European Union’s anti-Russian sanctions, the news agency TASS reports.
“The sanctions have not produced the expected effect. They have harmed both Europe and Russia. I don’t know who may be happy with that reciprocal damage,” Fico said on the eve of his official visit to Russia, due Tuesday, in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman.
He said sanctions cannot be the content of politics. “They may only be the tool or one of the tools in the resolution of emerging complex situations,” the premier underscored.
Second, he said, historical experience testifies to inefficiency of that mechanism of pressure.
“What have sanctions achieved regarding Cuba? The United States imposed embargos and sanctions that have not changed Cuba’s attitude toward the United States and the US attitude toward Cuba,” Fico recalled.
In that context, the Slovak premier also explained the position he stuck to in the issue of anti-Russian sanctions in the EU’s power bodies.
“When we discussed the issue at the European Council, I approached that in a reasonable way. I said that if sanctions harm both the European Union and the Russian Federation, what is their sense?” he said.
At the same time, Fico linked the possibility of the soonest cancelation of the anti-Russian sanctions with implementation of the Minsk agreements.
“We do not need sanctions or saber-rattling; we need a peaceful dialogue and specific results. If the Minsk agreements are implemented, I will be the first person to vote for further support of their implementation through easing of sanctions. In my view, it is the rightest approach,” the Slovak premier underscored.

Turkey to impose sanctions on countries recognizing Genocide: report

June 1, 2015 By administrator

Following some countries’ recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Ankara’s reaction is becoming clearer, Turkish newspaper Sabah reports, citing diplomatic sources.

Denying the fact of the Genocide, Turkey will reportedly apply economic sanctions against Austria and Luxembourg.

Turkey recalled its ambassadors to Vatican, Austria and Luxembourg due to their position and sources said, according to Sabah, that the ambassadors are expected to stay in Turkey until September.

Ankara will also not renew its bilateral agreements with the countries that recognized the Genocide.

but Shamefully Turkey will send the ambassadors back

Washington, in addition to sanctions against government of Azerbaijan, calls for boycotting European games in Baku

December 16, 2014 By administrator

At the forum “Can US sanctions help the Azerbaijani dissidents?”, organized on December 13 in Washington by the organization of “American Azerbaijanis for Democracy (AZAD), for the first time was toughly raised the issue on sanctions against Azerbaijani officials that were involved in human rights violation and freedoms in Azerbaijan. Commenting on the results of the forum for the Azerbaijani service of the “Voice of America» (VOA) the organizers and participants summarized the causes and steps for operating the sanctions, the Azerbaijani news agency “Turan” reports.

As it is noted in the article, the chairman of AZAD Elmar Shakhtakhtinski said the forum sends a message to Azerbaijani authorities that the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms as well such an attitude towards their people will receive a corresponding response. “We wanted to make it clear that the policy of official Baku is leading not to a rapprochement with the West but rather with authoritarian regimes,” said Shakhtakhtinski.

David Kramer, the former head of the human rights organization “Freedom House”, present director of the Human Rights and Democracy at the institute of McCain told the VOA, that the last massive pressure on the opposition, the arrest of journalist Khadija Ismayilova has caused serious concern in the United States, and therefore in February, after the holidays, at a congressional hearing the human rights topic in Azerbaijan will be important.

“I’m in favor of targeted sanctions, such as non-issuance of visas and freezing of bank accounts of those involved in human rights abuses. These steps are intended to release political prisoners and to stop the persecution of opponents,” Kramer said.
As stated in the article, Kramer also voiced another way to show pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities – a call for a boycott of the first European Olympic Games in Baku in 2015. “We must make sure that these games do not become a grand event for Aliyev with participation of European leaders,” he said.

Source: Panorama.am