image source,Getty Images
Moscow also unexpectedly sanctioned former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden’s son Hunter.
Russia has imposed sanctions on U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 12 other top U.S. officials, denying them entry to Russia, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The sanctions list includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and other members of the administration.
Moscow also unexpectedly sanctioned former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
The sanctions would bar the individuals from entering Russia and freeze any assets they have in the country. However, the Russian foreign ministry said the sanctions would not prevent the affected individuals from making necessary high-level contacts in the future.
Other top U.S. officials on the Moscow sanctions list include:
- Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
- CIA Director William Burns)
- Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh
- Samantha Power, Administrator, USAID
- Deputy Finance Minister Wally Adeyemo
- Export-Import Bank President Reta Jo Lewis
The Russian foreign ministry said the sanctions were imposed “on a reciprocal basis”.
But Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world.
Many Western countries have imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
On Tuesday (March 15), the United States announced sanctions on 11 Russian Defense Ministry leaders and said the United States may sanction Moscow-aligned Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The U.K. has previously imposed sanctions on another 370 Russians, including former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev.
Biden will travel to Europe next week for an emergency NATO summit in Brussels, where he will reiterate Washington’s “unwavering” support for his allies, the White House said on Tuesday.
image source,Reuters
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also on Russia’s sanctions list and banned from entering Russia.
analyze
By Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondent
Hillary Clinton may be giving up her dream of buying a vacation home in Sochi.
Any plans to start a business in Moscow will have to be shelved under a Biden presidency.
These jokes aside. Russia’s “sanctions order” against the US president, top White House officials and — interestingly — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has not held public office for nine years, is a symbol of Moscow’s massive sanctions on the US and its allies But not particularly effective retaliation. In particular, none of the Americans on this wave of sanctions lists have significant economic interests in Russia.
However, the move reflects a widening divide between the United States and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.
Barring the top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Blinken, from even setting foot on Russian soil suggests relations between the two countries are at a post-Cold War low point.
This has very real consequences beyond the Ukraine conflict, as the United States and Russia had hoped to cooperate on Iran nuclear talks, counterterrorism, global warming and other pressing international issues. Now these collaborations are less and less likely.