National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the Biden administration is preparing another round of sanctions against Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Why it matters: The news of a potential new sanctions package comes days after President Biden warned Vladimir Putin during their summit in Geneva that if Navalny died in prison the consequences for Russia would be “devastating.”
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The state of play: The Biden administration has already sanctioned Russia twice this past Spring.
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In March, the administration announced sanctions against 7 senior Russian officials over the poisoning and jailing of Navalny.
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Then in April, it followed up with even more sweeping economic sanctions in coordination with its allies, and formally accused the country’s Foreign Intelligence Service of carrying out the SolarWinds hack.
But, but, but: “Those penalties were not specifically directed at Mr. Putin or the oligarchs who support him,” notes the New York Times.
What they’re saying: “We are preparing another package of sanctions to apply in this case,” said Sullivan.
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“We’ve shown all along the way that we are not going to pull our punches, whether it’s on solar winds, or election interference, or Navalny when it comes to responding to Russia’s harmful activities.”
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Sullivan did not offer details as to the timeline for the new sanctions, but noted they would be rolled out “as soon as we have developed the packages to ensure that we are getting the right targets.”
Of note: White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the timing of Sullivan’s comments was not significant, and that there had been “no change from before the summit to after the summit,” according to the Times.
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