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Illegally imposed sanctions by one country on others is war by other means. If too harsh, they can be as devastating as conflict between standing armies.
Washington is waging economic and political war on Russia without declaring it. Britain is Washington’s partner in the sanctions regime against the Kremlin.
Effective August 22, the Trump regime intends imposing new sanctions on Russia for last March’s Skripal incident it had nothing to do with – a US/UK false flag blamed on the Kremlin.
On Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert issued a statement saying:
“The United States…determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) that the government of the Russian Federation has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law, or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals.”
The accusation is a bald-faced lie, not a shred of evidence proving it. The Theresa May regime welcomed Washington’s announcement, accusing Russia of “provocative, reckless behavior”.
New sanctions will ban export of designated high-tech products to Russia, mostly already prohibited.
Further sanctions will be imposed in 90 days unless the Kremlin agrees not to use CWs it doesn’t have and permits unacceptable on-site UN inspections it won’t allow nor should it.
In 2017, Russia completed the elimination of its CW stockpile – certified by OPCW inspectors. Washington maintains huge amounts of chemical and biological weapons, illegally used against adversaries in all its wars of aggression, along with radiological munitions.
Bilateral US/Moscow relations are already more dismal than ever. Cutting off all bilateral trade and perhaps suspending diplomatic relations may come next.
What’s going on are draconian actions aimed at undermining whatever Trump may try doing to improve bilateral relations. Virtually the entire Congress and his hardline national security team oppose it.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “retaliatory measures” will follow Washington’s latest hostile act.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called imposing US sanctions on Russia linked to the Skripal incident “totally unacceptable,” adding:
“We once again flatly reject any accusations regarding the possible involvement of the Russian state in what happened in Salisbury. That’s out of the question.”
“(W)e cannot even say unequivocally what and how was used in Britain, because we have no information and have no response to our proposal to the UK on a joint probe into that incident we are profoundly concerned about.”
“We are confident that such restrictive measures, just like the ones imposed by the American side earlier, are fully illegitimate and contravene international law.”
Deputy Speaker of Russia’s lower house State Duma Irina Yarovaya slammed the Trump regime, saying:
“The US has unmasked itself as the mastermind behind the cheap show to stage the poisoning of the Skripals. The curtain has been drawn. It reveals who directed and masterminded this provocation.”
They’re “by no means first-timers in the criminal sanctions aggression. The Novichok operation was carried out by those who are not strangers to launching sanctions around the globe.”
“It never bothered them that, even after being caught red-handed when accusing other countries for no good reason, they push ahead with their efforts aimed at destroying these countries and peoples.”
“Such brainwashing on the part of US politicians and tycoons has long been in the criminal zone from the perspective of international law.”
“Playing into their hands in the sanctions frenzy against Russia means the loss of security and economic well-being of the whole world.”
Unilaterally imposed sanctions are “international crimes,” she stressed. Russia’s embassy in Washington called the newly announced sanctions “draconian.”
In response to US threatened sanctions on Russia’s debt, its Finance Ministry said domestic investors “will be sufficient to implement state loans in the expected volumes…even without active participation of foreigners in the federal loan bond market.”
If Aeroflot flights to America are banned, retaliation from Russia will follow – possibly including higher tariffs for US airlines using Russian airspace or banning them from overflying the territory entirely.
Newly announced tariffs on Russia exacerbate US hostility toward the country, risking something far more serious than political and economic war.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
