WASHINGTON – The United States is expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for poisoning Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
President Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions for Navalny poisoning reflects a tougher stance than that adopted by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let the incident last August pass without punitive U.S. action.
Navalny fell ill on a flight to Siberia in August and was taken to Germany, where doctors concluded he had been poisoned with a nervous agent. The Kremlin has denied any role in his illness and said he had not seen any evidence that he was poisoned.
Sources said Monday on condition of anonymity that the United States was expected to act under two executive orders: 13661, which was dictated after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, but which provides broad authority to lead. -se to Russian officials, and in 13382, published in 2005 to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Both orders allow the United States to freeze the U.S. assets of target people and effectively prohibit U.S. companies and individuals from treating them.
Sources said the Biden administration also planned to act under the U.S. Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and War Act of 1991, which provides a menu of punitive measures.
Sources said some people would be the target of the sanctions that would be announced as early as Tuesday, but declined to name them or say what other sanctions could be imposed.
They added, however, that Washington would maintain waivers that would allow foreign aid and certain export licenses 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 could be coordinated with sanctions the European Union could apply as soon as Tuesday.
EU foreign ministers agreed on February 22 to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mostly symbolic response to Navalny prison. The EU was expected to formally approve those in early March.
In the case of Navalny, Trump, whose term ended in January, did nothing to punish Russia. Leading UN human rights experts said Monday that Moscow was to blame for the attempt to kill Navalny as part of a pattern of attacks on critics to end dissent.
After his 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 that he said were attacked.
Last month, Biden called Navalny prison “politically motivated” and called for his release. He has pledged a new, tough approach to Moscow, saying the United States will stop “rolling” in the face of Russia’s aggressive action.
Washington and Moscow disagree on a wide range of issues over Navalny, such as Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a cyberattack on U.S. government agencies last year that Washington blames Russia for . Moscow has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign. (Report by Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed; Written by Arshad Mohammed; Edited by Timothy Heritage and Peter Cooney)