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Accepting the leaders of the Baltic countries in the White House, the US president repeated his usual formula: "Ideally, we want to get along with Russia. To get along with Russia is good and not bad. Almost everyone agrees except very stupid people. Maybe we will get along, or maybe no one was tougher with Russia than Donald Trump." He was asked: who is now Vladimir Putin - a friend or an enemy? The president answered mysteriously: "We will install it. I will let you know. At one time you will learn about it. We'll see."

On the third day after these words, he let him know: the administration announced that he was introducing new sanctions against individuals and legal entities of Russia.

The sanctions were imposed onthe law "On countering the opponents of America through sanctions", which was adopted by Congress in July last year. The administration in every possible way resisted its adoption, claiming that the law deprives it of the levers of influence on Moscow. But in the congress, the vast majority voted for him, taking away from the president the opportunity to apply a veto.

The law did not introduce new sanctions - he codified those who had already acted at that time. But before they acted on the basis of presidential decrees. Now that they began to be law, it has become much more difficult to cancel them. In addition, the law expanded the list of sins for which the sanctions relying - cyber attacks and intervention in the American elections fell into it. A special article says that no later than 180 days after the entry of the law, the Minister of Finance, in agreement with the director of national intelligence and the Secretary of State, must submit a detailed report to Congress, which will be listed by senior officials and oligarchs of Russia; When compiling a list, they should be guided by their "proximity to the regime and size of the condition."

The need to make a list called "Kremlin", the legislators have repeatedly resembled the administration. In Russia, an unhealthy excitement reigned on this occasion: "close to the regime" faces the venerable Washington lawyers and lobbyists, so as not to get into the list, but in Washington no one knew how to prevent this - the list was compiled in the situation of strict secrecy.

Finally, January 30, on the last day of the deadline allotted by law, the list was published. It included more than 200 names and was not accompanied by any comments. In Moscow, they began to joke that the US Ministry of Finance stupidly overturned the Kremlin telephone reference book. The law does not indicate what to do with this list. President Trump did nothing. The defendants in the list relaxed.

In Moscow, they perfectly understood that Donald Trump was in an ambiguous position: he cannot punish for what he does not recognize or does not consider a violation of the law. He for a long time denied Russian intervention in the elections, then he began to recognize him, but to say that this intervention did not have any influence on the election results. Now, if he lost the election, then another thing. And, of course, he categorically denies the election conspiracy of his team with Russia.

But non -fulfillment of the law on sanctions, in turn, brings suspicions on him: is it not because he is so tight that he promised Moscow for its help to cancel them? He can call Russian intervention as much as he likes a fake, sucked from a finger by the democrats to justify his defeat. But his subordinates, responsible for national security, the fact of intervention does not cause any doubt, and they publicly talk about this.

In particular, his adviser to the national security (now former), General McMaster at a dinner in the Atlantic Council in honor of the same Baltic leaders, spoke extremely sharply about Russia's actions. “Since the time of cyber attacks against Estonia in 2007 and the invasion of Georgia in 2008,” he said, “Russia applied old and new forms of aggression in order to undermine our open societies and the foundations of the international world and stability ... For too long, some countries turned away from these threats. Russia brazenly and implausively denied its actions, and we did not force it to pay in full.” The general’s speech contained not only invectives at Moscow, but also a reciprocal program. By resigning, he seemed to announce his political testament, which is difficult to dismiss.

Due to all these circumstances, Trump's position in relation to Russia is inconsistent, impulsive and incompetence. The US president explains his desire to “get along with Russia” by the fact that “Russia can help us with Ukraine, Syria, North Korea.” How and how can it help if Moscow and Washington have exactly opposite goals in all three cases? The Pentagon plans to increase the American military presence in Syria - Trump, contrary to the unanimous opinion of the military, the intelligence community and the State Department, suddenly announces the imminent withdrawal of American troops from Syria. Teresa May calls the allies, collecting the coalition for the collective demarche in connection with the Skripals case, - Donald Trump calls to the Kremlin to congratulate Putin on the re -election, offers him to meet and does not mention a single word about poisoning in Salisbury. After Trump’s unexpected statement about the intention to meet with the North Korean leader Kim Jong -Yon, Moscow persistently pushes the parties to the summit, perfectly realizing that he will most likely give the opposite to the expected result.

The "Kremlin list" looked like a formal unsubscription. Meanwhile, the headquarters of the special prosecutor Muller received more and more information about Russia's intervention in the American elections, the first indictments appeared, including in relation to Russian citizens, and then the first sentence. At every opportunity, lawmakers reminded the president that it was time to do something with the list, and the Finance Minister Stephen Menushin promised that the sanctions were about to be introduced. April 6 this happened.

The main object of new sanctions is Oleg Deripaska and his business. Not only he, but also his business partners, out of 14 companies, half are connected with Deripaska. This is no longer restrictions, but a complete blockade. The expert at the Atlantic Council Anders Oslund believes that Deripaska’s business comes to an end. “Dry,” answered the aluminum tycoon to persistent questions about his participation in Rashagate CNN to Matthew Chonsu in November last year. However, this was before the publication in February of this year of the investigation of Alexei Navalny about his joint with Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko, a pastime on the oligarch's yacht in Norwegian waters. And in early March, the American student Scott Steadman, using Google's instruments, found that Deripaska’s personal aircraft flew in August 2016 to Newark Airport in order to, apparently, pick up the confidant of the oligarch, Konstantin Kilimnik, after meeting with Trump's adviser to Paul Manafort. After that, the plane flew to Moscow - apparently, to take Poddko on board - and from there to Norway. Together with Nastya’s notes, it seems that the oligarch and Deputy Prime Minister discussed the information delivered by a kilimnik.

This, of course, is only the tip of the iceberg. At the same time, Moscow continues to stubbornly repeat that all charges are unfounded, and requires evidence.

An interesting list of Kremlin officials are also interesting. For example, Oleg Markovich Govorun is the head of the Presidential Department of the Russian Federation on socio -economic cooperation with the CIS, Abkhazia and Southern Ossetia. He appears in the famous Dossier of Christopher Steel, which Trump declared a “dirty fake”, as a participant in Kremlin corruption schemes in the 1990s and now remains the main link between President Putin and Alfa-Group. Evgeny School, who is called the "shadow security for" the Kremlin: all personnel decisions on the power unit are made with its direct participation, is also interesting.

If the talker and schools are in the "Kremlin list", then Alexei Dyumin is not in it. Now he is the Governor of the Tula region, but before he was a personal adjutant of President Putin, and during the period of the Ukrainian crisis and the capture of Crimea he served as deputy chief of the GRU and, as reported, led the evacuation of Viktor Yanukovych. Among other things, he was called Putin’s possible successor.

The most interesting thing is that neither the Kremlin nor the White House after the mutual expulsion of diplomats and the introduction of new sanctions to which Moscow promised to answer did not abandon the idea of ​​the personal meeting of the presidents. The press secretary of the White House Sarah Sanders confirmed that Donald Trump's intention remains valid. On Sunday morning, the US President wrote on Twitter: "A lot of dead, including women and children, from a reckless chemical attack in Syria. The atrocious area is blocked and surrounded by the Syrian army, which makes it inaccessible to the outside world. Responsibility for the support of the Assad beast is carried by President Putin, Russia and Iran."

Soon we will find out how serious it is this time.