Angela Stent, National Interest: The U.S. Sanctions Bill Is a Win for Russia
The U.S. sanctions bill, designed to hurt Russia, may have unintended consequences for the United States.
The surprise about the Russian Foreign Ministry’s announcement of Russian sanctions on U.S. diplomats and embassy properties is that they did not come sooner. The usual practice during the Cold War and after was that any diplomatic expulsion on either side was met with a symmetrical response. Indeed, in December, after the Obama administration expelled thirty-five Russian diplomats and closed down two embassy compounds to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 election, Foreign Minister Lavrov appeared the next day on television brandishing a list of thirty-five American diplomats whom he advised President Putin to expel. But Putin surprised the world by announcing, “While we reserve the right to take reciprocal measures, we’re not going to downgrade ourselves to the level of irresponsible ‘kitchen’ diplomacy.” Clearly the Kremlin believed that once President Trump took office the sanctions would be rescinded and relations would improve, so why not be magnanimous?
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WNU Editor: Today's media narrative from Russia is this .... Russia and US must ‘start anew or everything will be in tatters’ – Russian Deputy FM (RT). On Russian social media (at least the sites that I like) .... this is now a non-story .... it looks like everyone in Russia is moving on. As for the Europeans .... they are raising objections .... What Europe Thinks Of Sanctions On Russia (NPR).
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