Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Russia Threatens the U.S. Over Possible 'Oligarch Sanctions'

Russia Threatens the U.S. Over Possible 'Oligarch Sanctions'
Photo credit should read MARTTI KAINULAINEN/AFP/Getty Images

Mnuchin promises sanctions to come as Dems push for more sooner.

Speaking with Izvestia newspaper in an interview published last week, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov hinted at a means of retribution still available to the Kremlin, which could be used towards the U.S., if further sanctions were to be imposed on Russia or its citizens.

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department named over 200 Russians to a list (that includes 96 "oligarchs") considered to have close ties with the Kremlin. Many of these people are expected to receive sanctions as part of a package signed into law in August of last year.


According to a recent Reuters article:

Ryabkov told Izvestia that Moscow had previously hit back at the United States by suspending agreements in the nuclear sphere, expanding its list of U.S. politicians it deems anti-Russian, and by ordering half the staff at the U.S. embassy in Russia to leave.

'We still have similar measures left in our arsenal,' said Ryabkov. 'But their possible activation is subject to a separate political decision.'

The list includes both the "oligarchs," with wealth over $1 billion and Russian officials. According to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, new U.S. sanctions will follow the release of the list and could be instituted some time within the next two to three months. But Democrats don't feel those sanctions are happening quickly enough, criticizing President Trump for delaying their implementation.



Mnuchin argued that the "oligarchs list" has not been delayed by the Trump administration, emphasizing that the list is NOT a guarantee of who will or won't be sanctioned. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Mnuchin said:

There will be sanctions that come out of this report. We will take the basis of that report and look at, as we do in the normal course, where it's appropriate to put sanctions. This should in no way be interpreted as we're not putting sanctions on any of the people in that report.

Still, with U.S./Russian relations strained over allegations of Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election in 2016 and tensions still running high over Syria, Ryabkov appeared to be issuing a carefully worded warning to the U.S., noting that a decision like this would be made by President Vladimir Putinhimselfafter heassessed the consequences (of the list) and any actions that might be taken on that list by the U.S..


As an interesting side note, the 96 tycoons named in the U.S. "oligarch" list appear to match the list of billionaires published in the Russian edition of Forbes magazine last year.

A Treasury spokesperson (speaking on condition of anonymity to BuzzFeed News) confirmed that: ...the unclassified annex of the report was derived from Forbes' ranking of the '200 richest businessmen in Russia 2017.'

This has drawn some criticism that the list may have been haphazardly put together. Only time will tell how exactly or even if, the list will be used by the Trump administration to indeed impose any new sanctions on Russia.




More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump Blasted For Announcing New Additions To The White House Lawn As Global Tensions Escalate

President Donald Trump was criticized after announcing that two new flagpoles would be added to the North and South Lawns of the White House—not the greatest look amid heightened global unease as tensions between Israel and Iran ramp up.

According to the Associated Press, Trump watched as a crane installed the newest flagpole on the South Lawn, remarking, “It’s such a beautiful pole.” He later returned to the site to salute as the American flag was raised for the first time.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Donald Trump from CNN supercut
CNN

Trump Mocked For 'Two Weeks' Iran Deadline With Supercut Of All His 'Two Weeks' Promises

President Donald Trump has a history of promising to resolve problems within "two weeks," and a new viral supercut mocks him for all the times he's said as much—including right now with tensions in the Middle East higher than ever.

Trump said Thursday he will decide within two weeks whether to involve U.S. forces directly in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing what he called a “substantial chance” for renewed nuclear negotiations with Tehran.

Keep ReadingShow less
red flag with pole on seashore
Seoyeon Choi on Unsplash

People Break Down The 'Silent Red Flags' Folks Tend To Ignore In Relationships

A red flag has come to mean any warning sign in life, in addition to the literal red flags that are placed on beaches or industrial sites to warn people of danger.

People will respond to situations by saying, "That’s a red flag." But before that language evolved, they'd just call them "warning signs."

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz; Tucker Carlson
The Tucker Carlson Show

Tucker Carlson And Ted Cruz Get Into Shouting Match Over Iran In Bonkers Interview Clip

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz—a harsh Donald Trump critic-turned-MAGA minion—sat down with fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson for the conservative influencer's self-produced online content,The Tucker Carlson Show, for the Tucker Carlson Network.

On Tuesday, Carlson shared a 1.5-minute clip revealing that things got contentious when the pair touched on the Trump administration's escalating tensions with Iran.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Barack Obama
Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Resurfaced Trump Tweet Criticizing Obama Over Iran Comes Back To Bite Him

Amid tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump was criticized for hypocrisy after social media users resurfaced a 2013 tweet in which he accused former President Barack Obama of planning an attack on Iran because of his "inability to negotiate properly."

Trump has declined to clarify whether the U.S. is edging closer to launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, following a warning from Iran’s supreme leader against any attack and a rejection of Trump’s demand for surrender.

Keep ReadingShow less