Biden to sanction Russia over Navalny poisoning, jailing

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s poisoning and jailing of Alexei Navalny, accusing Russia’s main intelligence agency of attempting to assassinate the opposition leader last year.

The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on seven members of the Russian government and export controls on several business entities involved in biological agent production. The sanctions include Russian officials and a Russian research center that were previously sanctioned by the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom last October in connection with Navalny’s poisoning in August 2020.

The sanctions, which are being coordinated with EU partners, come after an intelligence community assessment concluded with “high confidence” that officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) used the Novichok nerve agent to poison Navalny last August, Biden administration officials said.

“We’re sending a clear signal to Russia that there are consequences for the use of chemical weapons,” a senior administration official said.

The sanctions are expected to be formally rolled out later Tuesday. They are the first U.S. sanctions to be imposed on Russia over Navalny’s poisoning.

The Biden administration is also notifying Congress that Navalny’s poisoning triggered further sanctions under the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act. The Trump administration previously sanctioned Russia under the law in response to the March 2018 poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Great Britain.

The Treasury Department on Tuesday is designating seven senior members of the Russian government, officials said. The Commerce Department is also adding 14 parties to its entity list because of their involvement in biological agent and chemical agent production, including nine commercial entities in Russia, three in Germany and one in Switzerland.

The sanctions reflect President BidenJoe BidenSenate Democrats negotiating changes to coronavirus bill Rural Americans are the future of the clean energy economy — policymakers must to catch up WHO official says it’s ‘premature’ to think pandemic will be over by end of year MORE’s effort to confront and penalize Russia for bad behavior while also trying to work with it on matters of mutual concern. The U.S. and Russia agreed to extend the New START nuclear arms treaty with Moscow for a full five years earlier this year.

At the same time, Biden has forcefully condemned Russia’s behavior and raised the matter in his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich PutinUN experts: International investigation into Navalny poisoning needed Views of China, Russia at record lows: Gallup West’s ‘wokeness’ helped Russia to redefine a ‘prisoner of conscience’ MORE since taking office in January. His approach has diverged from that of his predecessor, former President TrumpDonald TrumpProsecutors focus Trump Organization probe on company’s financial officer: report WHO official says it’s ‘premature’ to think pandemic will be over by end of year Romney released from hospital after fall over the weekend MORE, who often spoke warmly of Putin and questioned assessments of Russia’s culpability in malign efforts.

The Trump administration did not impose sanctions on Russians in response to Navalny’s poisoning, nor did it ever publicly blame Moscow for the poisoning.

“Our goal is to have a relationship with Russia that is predictable and stable. Where there are opportunities for it to be constructive, and it is in our interest, we intend to pursue them. Given Russia’s conduct in recent years, there will also undoubtedly be adversarial elements and we will not shy away from those,” a senior administration official said. “The United States is neither trying to reset our relations with Russia nor are we seeking to escalate.”

Confronting Russia will be a challenge for Biden, and it is unlikely whether the actions taken Tuesday will in any way alter Moscow’s behavior.

The EU and U.K. last October imposed sanctions targeting six Russian officials and a Russian research center, the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology; the U.S. actions on Tuesday will match those taken by EU partners.

The EU is also expected to announce sanctions on four individuals on Tuesday, two of which the U.S. intends to sanction and two of which have already been subject to sanctions in the U.S.

The Biden administration has undertaken a sweeping review of Russian behavior, including the treatment of Navalny and also its involvement in the SolarWinds hack, election meddling efforts and alleged bounties on U.S. service members in Afghanistan.

An administration official told reporters that more actions would be forthcoming around each of these issues “in the coming weeks,” stressing that there would be “more to come.”

The Washington Post reported last month that the Biden administration is planning to sanction Russia for the breach of at least nine federal agencies and 100 private sector companies that has become known as the SolarWinds hack.

Germany, France, and Sweden as well as the global chemical watchdog known as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons judged last year that Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent.

Navalny recovered from the attack last August in Germany and returned to Russia in January. He was swiftly jailed and sentenced by a Russian court to a 32-month prison term for violating the terms of his probation.

The U.S. and its European partners have condemned Navalny’s jailing as politically motivated and demanded his release. The international community has also denounced Russia’s imprisonment of protesters who have demonstrated in support of Navalny and against the Kremlin’s actions.

“We reiterate our call for the Russian government to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Navalny,” a senior administration official said Tuesday.

Updated at 10:16 a.m.