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WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (AP) — Future sanctions on President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine must focus on depriving Putin of what he needed to fund and fight the war: revenue from Russian oil and gas sales and access to the world Supply the network to supplement his military, two architects of the Biden administration’s sanctions campaign told lawmakers on Wednesday.
While calling for stronger action against Russia, State and Treasury officials on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee faced complaints from Democrats and Republicans that the first round of sanctions did not have the severe or rapid impact on Moscow that the administration had predicted. blow.
“We were told this would be the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a country. They would have some impact,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, describing early predictions by administration officials, That is, sanctions will plunge the country into recession, devalue the ruble, and spark unrest among the Russians. “And we haven’t seen the full impact that has been described to us.
“It is frustrating that we know that while we are fighting a protracted war, Ukrainians are dying,” Shaheen added.
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Putin has vowed to advance his offensive in Ukraine despite losses on the battlefield and NATO-supplied Ukrainian troops. Over the past week, Russia has begun calling in hundreds of thousands of civilians to replenish its depleted forces in Ukraine and holding fake referendums on Russian-occupied territories as an expected prelude to Russia’s claims to those lands.
In response to those referendums, the United States and its allies are preparing new sanctions, which White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday would “inflict serious economic costs on Russia as it moves forward with annexation.”
The senator and two Biden administration officials — Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Elizabeth Rosenberg and Director of the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination James O’Brien — focused Wednesday on additional penalties designed to keep Russia from continuing to prosecute the war.
The skilful financial management of Russian officials, especially the billions of dollars in windfall profits from oil and gas exports, has cushioned the impact of sanctions imposed by the United States and about 30 other countries. The sanctions so far have targeted Russia’s financial institutions, businesses, military and high-tech industries, as well as thousands of officials and other Russian elites.
Rosenberg told lawmakers that Russia should run a deficit by the end of the year. But Sen. Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, noted that Russia’s currency is far better managed than the U.S. had expected, and that its inflation and stock market issues are not out of touch with other countries. go out.
“It’s not as serious as we thought about Russia,” Romney said of the international sanctions, which, combined with arms supplies to Ukraine, form the core of Western support for Ukraine. Romney believes this could serve as a cautionary tale as the U.S. considers future sanctions.
Rosenberg emphasized that the U.S. should be “laser-focused” so Russia can’t reap the energy profits that sustain the war and its economy. Russia is the world’s leading oil and gas exporter.
U.S. and European officials are rushing to finalize plans for a price-cap system for Russian offshore oil exports. The system is designed to keep Russian oil on the world market to avoid pushing up prices while driving down prices for Russian exports.
Second important, sanctions officials say, is that Russia is using a global arms procurement network to replenish weapons and technology for the Ukrainian war. O’Brien said Russia has deployed increasingly older equipment on the battlefield, turned to Iran to buy drones, and is reportedly cannibalizing commercial high-tech to keep military hardware going.
Lawmakers and sanctions officials also talked about better coordination of existing U.S. and EU sanctions to close loopholes, future unspecified measures against Russia’s “soft power” and sanctions on human rights abusers in the Russian military.
“We appreciate what you have done,” Senator James Risch, a Wisconsin Republican and a senior committee member, told sanctions organizers. “We want you to double down on this. Because you’re the one who can really help end this.” (AP)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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