WASHINGTON – The United States must impose sanctions to punish Russia for poisoning Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter said.
President Joe Biden’s decision to impose sanctions for Navalny’s poisoning reflects a tougher stance than that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, who let last August’s incident pass without a punitive U.S. action.
Navalny fell ill on a flight in Siberia in August and was flown to Germany, where doctors concluded that he had been poisoned by a nervous agent. The Kremlin denied any role in his illness and said it saw no evidence that he was poisoned.
The sources said on Monday, on condition of anonymity, that the United States should act under two executive orders: 13661, which was issued after Russia’s invasion of Crimea, but provides broad authority to target Russian authorities, and 13382, issued in 2005 to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Both orders allowed the United States to freeze the American assets of those targeted and effectively prevented American companies and individuals from doing business with them.
The sources said the Biden administration also planned to comply with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and War Elimination Act of 1991, which provides a menu of punitive measures.
The sources said that some individuals would be targeted for sanctions to be announced on Tuesday, but declined to name them or say that other sanctions could be imposed.
They added, however, that Washington will maintain exemptions that allow foreign aid and certain export licenses to Russia.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possibility of sanctions.
A third source said the US action could be coordinated with sanctions that the European Union could apply as early as Tuesday.
EU foreign ministers agreed on February 22 to impose sanctions on four top Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin, in a mostly symbolic response to Navalny’s arrest. The EU was due to formally approve them in early March.
In the case of Navalny, Trump, whose term ended in January, did nothing to punish Russia. UN human rights experts said on Monday that Moscow was to blame for the attempt to kill Navalny as part of a pattern of attacks on critics to suppress dissent.
After his medical treatment in Germany, Navalny, 44, returned to Russia in January. He was arrested and later sentenced to more than 2 ½ years in prison for violations of probation that he said were forged.
Biden last month called Navalny’s prison “politically motivated” and called for his release. He promised a new and tough approach to Moscow, saying the United States would no longer be “rolling” in the face of aggressive action by Russia.
Washington and Moscow disagree on a wide range of Navalny-related issues, such as Russia’s military ambitions in Ukraine and Georgia, as well as a cyber attack on U.S. government agencies last year that Washington attributes to Russia. Moscow has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign. (Reporting by Steve Holland, Humeyra Pamuk and Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Peter Cooney)