U.S. expands sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration ratcheted up pressure on Russia on Tuesday, unveiling sanctions on more than three dozen additional individuals and organizations that have participated in the country’s incursion in Ukraine.
The Treasury Department made the announcement on the same day that President Donald Trump hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, at the White House to discuss a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Russia. The sanctions also came as Mr. Trump continues to face questions about whether his campaign colluded with Russia to help him defeat Hillary Clinton.
Thenew sanctions underscored the renewed tension in already abysmal relations between Washington and Moscow. On Monday, Russia threatened to target U.S. and other coalition aircraft over Syria a day after an American fighter jet shot down a Syrian warplane.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there should be no sanctions relief for Russia until it meets its obligations under the Minsk agreements — the 2015 cease-fire deal between Russia and Ukraine — while measures “related to Crimea will not be lifted until Russia ends its occupation of the peninsula.”
“These designations will maintain pressure on Russia to work toward a diplomatic solution,” he said. “This administration is committed to a diplomatic process that guarantees Ukrainian sovereignty.”
Two Russian government officials are included in the latest sanctions as well as two people “acting for or on behalf of a government official” and 38 individuals and entities under Ukraine-related authorities, the Treasury said. There are also “two entities that are owned or controlled by an individual previously designated, and 11 individuals and entities that operate in the Crimea region of Ukraine,” according to the statement.
Among the most intriguing sanctions were those involving a motorcycle gang, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chef and a shadowy company that supplies contract soldiers to Russian military efforts overseas.
“The Trump administration deserves some credit both for the timing and for the substance of these sanctions,” said Daniel Fried, America’s longest-serving diplomat and State Department coordinator for sanctions policy up until his retirement several months ago. “This is not a softball list. Nobody tried to water it down. There’s too much good stuff in here.”
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As for Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump and the Russian leader are expected to meet for the first time on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, early next month. Sanctions are one of many potentially thorny issues on the table.
Also on Tuesday, a bill that passed the Senate last week extending financial sanctions on Russia and Iran and making it more difficult for Mr. Trump to ease Russian sanctions has encountered a major procedural snag, threatening its quick passage into law.
Saudis, UAE chastised
The an State unusual Department publicissued warning to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday over a diplomatic rift with fellow U.S. ally Qatar, and suggested that the Saudis may have provoked a crisis and drawn in the United States on false pretenses. Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the administration was “mystified” that — two weeks after announcing a diplomatic and economic embargo against Qatar over alleged support for terrorism — Saudi Arabia and the UAE have not publicly detailed their complaints.
U.S. shoots down drone
The U.S. military said it shot down an Iranian-made, armed drone that was flying toward U.S.-backed Syrian fighters and their advisers in southern Syria on Tuesday, marking the third time this month that that the U.S. has downed aircraft affiliated with President Bashar Assad’s government.
U.S. plane intercepted
A Russian fighter jet came “within several feet” of an Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea and unsafely lingered by the side of the U.S. plane for several minutes on Monday, U.S. military officials said.
War authorization
Senators from both parties agreed Tuesday that it was long past time for Congress to enact a new law authorizing the evolving war against Islamist terrorist groups, while also raising questions about the legal basis for the Trump administration’s escalating direct military confrontations with Syrian government forces.
Ivanka, Jared invited
China has invited Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to visit later this year, according to people familiar with the matter.