"What we're doing this week ... is trying to develop this strong sectoral package on both sides of the Atlantic so that the Russians can see it, understand it, and understand its impact if they take further action to prevent these elections from happening," Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
More than 20 Republican senators - including committee members - co-sponsored legislation seeking to impose tougher sanctions on Russia, including sanctions on major banks and energy companies. Although that measure is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, its backers still hope for Democratic support.
[jpost.com]
7/5/14
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Influenial American Senator Benjamin Cardin told ITAR-TASS in an interview that he considers it necessary to maintain dialogue with Russian parliamentarians despite the sanctions applied against a number of members of the Federation Council and State Duma upper and lower houses of the Russian parliament.....
ReplyDeleteIn the US Congress, Mr. Cardin is heading the Helsinki Commission.
It is always a good thing to maintain direct contacts, he said, pointing out that he expects to see Russian counterparts in Azerbaijan where an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session is due to be held in July, and hold separate bilateral meetings with them.
The USA had earlier applied sanctions against a number of Russia's officials, among them parliamentarians involved in the elaboration and pursuance of the Russian policy with regard to Ukraine. The sanctions list includes Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko and State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin.................http://en.itar-tass.com/world/730704
7/5/14