WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) US lawmakers are considering sanctions against Russian sovereign debt and businessmen in response to Moscow's alleged malign activities, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo said Thursday during a hearing on anti-Russia sanctions.
"It seems to me from what I've heard so far that sovereign debt and increased focus on oligarchs are two areas which seem to have some broad support for us to look at further in ratcheting up our responses," Crapo said.
Any constructive use of sanctions against Russia is complicated by the level of its integration into the global economy, Crapo said. But the United States has the ability to impose "real costs" against Moscow, he added.
On August 8, the US administration announced new sanctions against Russia, consisting of two packages, in response to its alleged use of chemical weapons in the poisoning of former double agent Sergey Skripal and his daughter in the UK city of Salisbury in March.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Skripals case, stressing that London has neither provided evidence nor cooperated with Moscow in investigating the incident.
The United States also imposed a separate package of sanctions on Russia on August 2, 2017, over its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in the vote, calling such accusations "absurd."
