�WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th November, 2020) The US House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted a bill to block federal funds to facilitate Russia's participation in the G7 or the restoration of the G8, along with a separate resolution condemning Moscow for the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexy Navalny.
� "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds are authorized to be appropriated to take any action to support or facilitate� (1) the participation of Russia in a Group of� Seven proceeding; or (2) the reconstitution of the Group of Eight to include Russia," the bill on the G7 said.
Russia was disinvited from the informal club of the world's leading nations as part of international response to the reunification of Crimea in 2014 following a political crisis in Ukraine and a referendum.
According to the draft, the prohibition will be in place until the US State Department certifies that "Russia has ended its occupation of Crimea and certain parts of Georgia and is complying with its commitments and taking specified actions related to these areas."
Another precondition requires that the Department of State and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) certify that Russia "has halted all interference into the elections of certain countries, including the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states."
Separately, the US House also passed legislation condemning the alleged poisoning of Navalny and calling for a robust US and international response to the situation.
The bill also urges the US State Department and Department of Treasury to use their authority under the Magnitsky Act to designate individuals allegedly involved in the poisoning.
Navalny was hospitalized in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20, after falling ill on a plane. Russian doctors found no traces of poisonous substances in his test samples. Navalny was later transferred to a clinic in Germany. The German government then said citing local doctors that he had been poisoned, adding later that these conclusions were confirmed by laboratories in France and Sweden.
