Translated material
Gosdepovsky Listen
The US State Department prepared and transferred to Congress a list of Russian persons and organizations that can affect new sanctions. This was stated at a briefing by the press secretary of the American Foreign Ministry, Heather Neurt.
"The Secretary of State Rex Tillerson authorized the State Department to issue a public leadership indicating persons or organizations that are included or act on behalf of the defense or intelligence sector of the Russian authorities. This means that the secretary Tillerson signed this document, which is now on the Capitol Hill," Neuert said.
Neuert emphasized that in the end this list will be published on the website of the State Department. However, she refused to give details, since negotiations between Congress, partners and industry representatives continue.
Later, the document was published by The New York Times. The list includes 33 defense companies, including Rosoboronexport, Rostec, Uralvagonzavod Izhmash, Kalashnikov, Almaz-Antei MiG, Sukhoi, the United Aircraft Building Corporation, and the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
The list of intelligence agencies included the Federal Security Service, the foreign intelligence service, the main intelligence department of the General Staff, as well as three organizations producing technical intelligence equipment.
In the explanation to the list, it is noted that restrictions will not be introduced for the structures included in it, but in relation to any American or foreign persons who have made “significant transactions” with these Russian enterprises, institutions and departments.
The State Department was supposed to draw up this document by October 1. On Wednesday, Neuert and the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders explained the violation of the terms with the complexity of the process and the need to develop recommendations for US partners.
On August 2, Trump signed a law on new sanctions against Russia, as well as Iran and DPRK. The document was adopted in the House of Representatives with 419 votes against three , and in the Senate - 98 against two . About half the document is devoted to anti -Russian sanctions. It is noted that they are introduced "in response to a crisis in eastern Ukraine, cyber attacks, as well as human rights violations in Russia."
The document tightens restrictions on the transfer of American technologies for the exploration and production of Russian oil in deep water, the Arctic shelf and in shale formations. Until now, such sanctions have been valid only against the Gazprom, Gazpromneft, Surgutneftegaz, Rosneft and Lukoil projects. Now they are extended to all projects in which one of the named companies owns a “significant uncontrolled share” - 33 percent or more. In addition, transactions with the participation of Russian military and special structures, as well as transactions in the field of pipeline export of hydrocarbons are limited.
Along with this, it is forbidden to participate in privatization transactions with Russian state property, if they assume an investment volume of more than $ 10 million a year and contribute to the illegal enrichment of officials, their relatives and close associates. Finally, sanctions against Russian financial institutions and their employees are imposed, who provide assistance to the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad in the development or receipt of weapons, in particular rocket and weapons of mass destruction.
The same document enshrines at the legislative level the previous orders of the US administration on sanctions and obliges the country's president to coordinate any mitigation of sanctions with Congress.
On July 28, even before the signing of the Trump law, Moscow demanded that Washington reduce the number of diplomats and technical employees at the embassy, as well as the Secondary Generals in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok to 455 people - this is how many employees are now working in Russian diplomasses in the United States. In addition, the use of a summer house in the village of Serebryany Bor in the west of Moscow and warehouses on the road street was suspended. On August 31, the American authorities in response demanded from Russia until September 2 to close the Consulate General in San Francisco , as well as a trade mission in Washington and its branch in New York.