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Kremlin Says U.S. Turns Russian Elite into a List of ‘Enemies’ Trump’s Stance on Russia Sanctions Angers Both Moscow and Washington
(about 1 hour later)
MOSCOW — In the latest salvo between Moscow and Washington, the United States Treasury included almost the entire roster of senior Russian government officials as well as 96 billionaires on a new list meant to detail Russia’s most influential people. MOSCOW — The Trump administration managed the unusual feat this week of outraging both Russia’s leaders in Moscow and Russia’s biggest critics in Washington with its handling of a new sanctions law intended to punish the Kremlin for interference in the 2016 American elections.
The list of 210 people was released just before midnight Monday in accordance with a sanctions-related law that passed the United States Congress last August. Those on the new list were not sanctioned, however. The State Department angered members of Congress by announcing on Monday that it did not plan to impose new sanctions called for in a measure that President Trump reluctantly signed into law last year. And the Treasury Department angered Moscow later in the day with a new name-and-shame list identifying 210 senior Russian political and business figures.
On the contrary, the Trump administration refrained from imposing any fresh sanctions, angering President Trump’s political opponents in the United States, who said it showed his unwillingness to confront Russia over election meddling and other hostile actions. The twin announcements left a muddled impression of how Mr. Trump plans to approach the Kremlin in his second year in office even as investigators search for evidence of collaboration between his campaign and Russian agents. His domestic opponents complained that once again Mr. Trump seemed to be in thrall to Russia, while the Kremlin complained that he was a captive of what it described as the American deep state.
President Vladimir V. Putin, while calling the list a slap against all Russians, said Tuesday that his country would not react immediately to the roster, which his spokesman described as a new American “enemies list” that could harm many reputations. “This is definitely an unfriendly act,” President Vladimir V. Putin said when asked about the Treasury Department list during a campaign event in advance of Russia’s own presidential election in March. “It is complicating Russian-American relations, where the situation is already hard, and is definitely harming international relations in general.”
“This is definitely an unfriendly act,” Mr. Putin said when asked about the list during a campaign event for the March 2018 presidential election. “It is complicating Russian-American relations, where the situation is already hard, and is definitely harming international relations in general.” Mr. Putin said Moscow had pondered virtually breaking ties with Washington over what is known in Russia as the “Kremlin report,” but decided against it. “We were prepared to undertake retaliatory steps, and quite serious ones too, which would cut our relations to zero,” he said. “But we will refrain from such steps for the time being.”
Mr. Putin said that Moscow had pondered virtually breaking ties with Washington over what is known in Russia as the “Kremlin report,” but decided against it. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers criticized Mr. Trump for not imposing additional sanctions on Russia as envisioned in the legislation passed over his objections by veto-proof bipartisan majorities in both houses last August.
“We were prepared to undertake retaliatory steps, and quite serious ones, too, which would cut our relations to zero,” he said. “But we will refrain from such steps for the time being.” “It is a grave breach of President Trump’s responsibilities to reward President Putin by inaction for his intervention in an American election — it represents nothing less than appeasement for an attack on our country’s democracy,” said Representative Adam Smith of Washington State, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. “It is time for us time to stand up for our country. We cannot let these actions to continue to go unpunished.”
The document itself said being included did not mean being involved in “malign activities.” The list has a long, complicated title that included a numerical reference to the section of the law which had required its publication. Under the new law, Mr. Trump faced two deadlines on Monday. The law required him to impose sanctions on large purchasers of Russian military equipment but granted exceptions. The State Department cited those exceptions in announcing that it would not take new punitive actions, arguing that the law itself was already deterring such purchases.
Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, said the report could damage the reputation of people, companies and organizations, not least by suggesting that everyone on it was an enemy of the United States. The law also required him to produce a list of “senior political figures and oligarchs” in Russia. No actions were to be taken against those identified on the list, but it was seen as a way of sending a signal to those close to Mr. Putin that they had much to lose if Moscow does not pull back from its intervention in Ukraine and its interference in Western elections.
“The fact that this list was made public can potentially do damage to the image and reputation of our enterprises, businessmen, politicians and officials,” he told reporters, calling the roster “unprecedented.” Responding to criticism, the Trump administration insisted on Tuesday that it was not finished taking action under the new legislation. Grilled by Democrats during a congressional hearing, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin rejected suggestions that the administration was delaying action on Russia.
“De facto everyone is called the enemy of the United States,” said Mr. Peskov. “If you read the text and the title of this document, all this is done in accordance with the law on countering the enemies of the United States.” “I don’t think in any way we’re slow-walking the report that we delivered last night,” he said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on financial stability.
Government figures on the list include more than 40 of Mr. Putin’s closest advisers; all 30 members of the cabinet of ministers, including Prime Minister Dimitri A. Medvedev; the heads of many important state agencies and state-run companies; and other key political figures. Mr. Mnuchin insisted that the legislation required only that his department produce a report by Monday, and that additional action would be taken. “There will be sanctions out of this report,” he said.
Perhaps the most prominent government official not on the list was the central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina. At least 22 people on the list already had been placed under United States sanctions by the administration of President Barack Obama, which said they had played key roles in fueling the Ukraine crisis. The Treasury list, released just before midnight in Washington, included almost the entire roster of senior Russian government officials as well as 96 billionaires. The document said that inclusion on the list did not mean involvement in “malign activities.” The list has a long, complicated title that included a numerical reference to the section of the law requiring its publication.
The list was met with a combination of disbelief and derision in Russia, with mocking comments ricocheting around social media. Some joked that it had taken the Trump administration six months to photocopy the Forbes list of Russian billionaires, since they were all included, as well as the link detailing senior officials on the Kremlin website. Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, called it an “enemies list” and said the report could unfairly tar those on it. “The fact that this list was made public can potentially do damage to the image and reputation of our enterprises, businessmen, politicians and officials,” he told reporters, calling the roster “unprecedented.”
“De facto everyone is called the enemy of the United States,” Mr. Peskov said. “If you read the text and the title of this document, all this is done in accordance with the law on countering the enemies of the United States.”
Government figures on the list include more than 40 of Mr. Putin’s closest advisers; all 30 members of the cabinet of ministers, including Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev; the heads of many important state agencies and state-run companies; and other key political figures.
Perhaps the most prominent government official not on the list was the central bank governor, Elvira Nabiullina. At least 22 people on the list had already been placed under United States sanctions by the administration of President Barack Obama, which said they had played key roles in fueling the Ukraine crisis.
The list was met with a combination of disbelief and derision in Russia, with mocking comments ricocheting around social media. Some joked that it had taken the Trump administration six months to photocopy the Forbes list of Russian billionaires, since they were all included, as well as the link detailing senior officials on the Kremlin website. Treasury officials confirmed that they did rely on Forbes, among other publicly available sources.
“The list looks like the book ‘Who’s who in Russian politics,’” Arkady V. Dvorkovich, a deputy prime minister included on the list, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Like many, he shrugged it off as merely a list of names. “There is no need for action now.”“The list looks like the book ‘Who’s who in Russian politics,’” Arkady V. Dvorkovich, a deputy prime minister included on the list, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Like many, he shrugged it off as merely a list of names. “There is no need for action now.”
The 96 oligarchs on the roster were those Russians worth more than $1 billion, according to the introduction to the document. It was scattered with well-known people including Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets, and Eugene Kaspersky, whose antivirustechnology firm has been under fire in the West over allegations that it cooperates with Russian intelligence. One man on the list, Kirill Shamalov, might no longer be in the billionaire’s club since recently divorcing one of Mr. Putin’s daughters, Bloomberg reported. The 96 oligarchs were Russians each worth more than $1 billion, including well-known people like Mikhail Prokhorov, the owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, and Eugene Kaspersky, whose antivirus technology firm has been under fire in the West over allegations that it cooperates with Russian intelligence. One man on the list, Kirill Shamalov, who married one of Mr. Putin’s daughters, might no longer be in the billionaire’s club since they have recently split, Bloomberg reported.
Kaspersky Labs issued a statement objecting to its founder’s inclusion, saying the company did not have political influence, and Mr. Kaspersky commented on his own Twitter account. Kaspersky Labs issued a statement objecting to its founder’s inclusion, saying the company did not have political influence, and Mr. Kaspersky commented on his own Twitter account, emphasizing that the company helps protect customers “regardless of their origin.”
Businessman Gavril Yushvayev, who said he had invested $500 million into Western start-ups, told the online news website The Bell that his overseas partners had been calling to say that they would ignore the list. “Everybody needs people who can invest, regardless of these lists,” he said. “I am not upset, whatever happens, happens.” The businessman Gavril Yushvaev, who said he had invested $500 million in Western start-ups, told the online news website The Bell that his overseas partners had been calling to say that they would ignore the list. “Everybody needs people who can invest, regardless of these lists,” he said. “I am not upset. Whatever happens, happens.”
The governor of St. Petersburg, Georgiy Poltavchenko, said through a spokesman on Twitter that his inclusion was a sign that he was doing a good job. The governor of St. Petersburg, Georgi Poltavchenko, said through a spokesman on Twitter that his inclusion was a sign that he was doing a good job.
The list was prepared after the United States Congress, responding to evidence of Russian hacking and other meddling in the 2016 American presidential election, passed a law in August demanding that the Trump administration prepare within six months a “detailed report” on senior political figures and wealthy businessmen in Russia. The announcement said there were more names on a classified annex provided by the Treasury Department, including lesser officials or businessmen worth less than $1 billion.
The announcement said there were more names on an unpublished annex provided by the Treasury Department, including lesser officials or businessmen worth less than $1 billion. The American ambassador to Moscow, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., portrayed it as a simple step required by the law. “I would say that we should not allow emotions drive this issue,” he told the Echo of Moscow radio station. “It isn’t new sanctions. It is simply a report.”
The American ambassador to Moscow, Jon M. Huntsman Jr., portrayed it as a simple legal step required by the sanctions-related law passed last summer and little else. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump was effectively circumventing the law and “afraid to sanction Putin” and his associates.
“I would say that we should not allow emotions drive this issue,” he said in an interview with the Echo of Moscow radio station. “It isn’t new sanctions. It is simply a report.” “If President Trump wishes to save his presidency from the shame of having failed to address one of the gravest threats facing our country, he would announce this evening in no uncertain terms that he was sanctioning President Putin,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to the president’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening. “Any other president would have already made it their priority to take decisive action in their first year.”
It is up to the Congress to decide what to do with the report, he said. But Mr. Trump got support from an unlikely quarter, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a Republican who has broken with the president before. “On the whole, it is clear the administration is working in good faith and I am committed to applying pressure, as needed, to ensure further implementation,” Mr. Corker said.
The unfocused nature of the list was likely to create more than a little head-scratching. It could provide additional fuel to those who suspect that President Trump is somehow beholden to Russia, since it did not single out any person or entity for additional sanctions and its overall purpose seemed muddy.
Just as Mr. Trump generally refrains from criticizing Russia, Mr. Putin uses practically every blow against American-Russian relations to suggest that while Moscow seeks improved ties with the United States, internal American political actors thwart that goal and Mr. Trump.
The Trump administration also announced Monday that it had decided against imposing any sanctions on countries that buy Russian military equipment, another piece of the legislation, saying that the new law already deterred billions of dollars in such purchases.
Mr. Trump called the law “seriously flawed” when he signed it in August, not least because he cannot ease current sanctions without a Congressional review. Russia initially reacted by forcing the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to slash its staff.