From the MT:
“Russia Bans Top Biden
Officials as Tensions Soar”
Russia on Friday banned top
officials from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration from entering the
country as it announced a wave of tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of
diplomats, as tensions soar between the rivals. Moscow nonetheless said it viewed the prospect
of a summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin
"positively." On Thursday, Washington had announced sanctions and the
expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what it says is
interference by the Kremlin in U.S. elections, a massive cyber attack and other
hostile activity.
Moscow in a forceful response
said top U.S. officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden's
chief Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, and FBI chief Christopher Wray would
be banned from entering Russia. Earlier
Friday Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that Russia was responding
to U.S. sanctions in "a tit-for-tat manner" by asking 10 U.S.
diplomats in Russia to leave the country while also expelling five Polish
diplomats in response to a similar move by Warsaw. Lavrov also said that
Putin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, had recommended that U.S. envoy
John Sullivan leave for Washington to conduct "serious
consultations." But Russia's Foreign Ministry insisted that it viewed
Biden's proposal to hold a summit with Putin "positively," adding
that it was "currently under consideration." Biden's offer earlier
this week of a summit had amounted to a peace offering, as tensions between
Russia and the West have escalated over the conflict in Ukraine and the new
penalties levied by Washington. The U.S. penalties widened restrictions on U.S.
banks trading in Russian government debt and sanctioned 32 individuals accused
of meddling in the 2020 U.S. presidential vote.
Normalizing ties Biden had
on Thursday described the new U.S. sanctions against Russia as a "measured
and proportionate" response. In March, Russia recalled its
ambassador to the United States back to Moscow for consultations on the future
of U.S.-Russia ties. The rare move came after Biden said Putin would
"pay a price" for alleged election-meddling and agreed with the
assessment that Putin is a "killer." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov on Friday said Putin had long talked about the importance of normalizing
relations between Moscow and Washington. "It is indeed good that the points of
view of the two heads of state coincide on this," he said. But
Peskov also blasted the new round of penalties imposed by Washington, saying
America's "addiction to sanctions remains unacceptable." Finnish
President Sauli Niinisto on Friday offered his country as a venue for a
possible Biden-Putin meeting. In recent weeks, Russia's massing of
troops on Ukraine's northern and eastern borders, and on the Crimean peninsula
it annexed seven years ago, have contributed to the sharp escalation in
tensions. U.S. forces in Europe have raised their alert status in response,
while NATO has issued warnings to Moscow.
NATO concern NATO on
Friday said reported plans by Moscow to block parts of the Black Sea would be
"unjustified" and called on Moscow "to ensure free access to
Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov, and allow freedom of navigation." Russian
state media reported that Moscow intends to close parts of the Black Sea to
foreign military and official ships for six months, triggering concerns in the
United States and the European Union. Sanctions as a tool for punishing Moscow
have become routine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting erupted
between Kiev's forces and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine. Relations
have plunged further more recently, with Washington accusing Moscow of
interfering in its presidential elections in 2016 and 2020. This year
even before the recent alarm over the Ukraine conflict, tensions had ratcheted
up sharply after the U.S. slapped sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of
jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Ties then hit rock bottom last
month after Biden, who promised to take a firmer line on Moscow than his
predecessor Donald Trump, agreed with a description of Putin as a
"killer."
^ Russia’s move was no surprise.
Russia likes to play the victim in everything – even when most of the time they
are aggressor (like in the US Election and Hacking.) ^
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/04/16/russia-bans-top-biden-officials-as-tensions-soar-a73630
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