Joe Biden has imposed more sanctions on Russia over the country's alleged interference in the US election.
According to CNBC News, the POTUS imposed a number of diplomatic measures in response to the Russian interference in the 2020 election, cyberattack against the American government, occupation of Crimea, and numerous human rights abuses.
Politico reports that these measures follow a conversation between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, April 12, during which Biden proposed they meet in a third country in the coming months.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against 16 entities and 16 individuals who are alleged to have attempted to influence the 2020 presidential election in Donald Trump's favor.
It also expelled 10 officials from Russia’s diplomatic mission in the United States.
On Thursday, the POTUS signed an economic executive order which prohibits American financial institutions from conducting transactions in the primary market for new ruble or non-ruble-denominated bonds issued after June 14.
In an official statement published on the department's website, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also commented on the new measures by stating: "The President signed this sweeping new authority to confront Russia’s continued and growing malign behavior."
She added:
"[The] Treasury is leveraging this new authority to impose costs on the Russian government for its unacceptable conduct, [...] by limiting Russia’s ability to finance its activities and targeting Russia's malicious and disruptive cyber capabilities."
In addition, a senior Biden administration official told CNBC News: "We have no desire to be in an escalatory cycle with Russia."
"We intend these responses to be proportionate and tailored to the specific past activities, paths, actions that Russia has taken."
The Guardian reports that Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov claims that the sanctions haven't threatened the Russian economy, stating: "The efficiency of our economic wing has been recognized internationally, and we see no reasons to doubt their efficiency."
"You know that President Putin has spoken about the reasonableness of forging, normalizing and de-escalating relations [with the United States]. It is really a positive thing that the two presidents see eye to eye on this."
The Russian government has denied all allegations made against it by Western powers.
