Bill on new sanctions over Navalny submitted to the US Congress

According to the press service of Senator Marco Rubio, representing Florida, the document called "The 2021 Bill to Hold Russia Accountable for Malicious Activities" was reintroduced by US Republican senators: Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney (representing Utah) and Democrats: Chris Koons (Delaware), Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (Maryland), and Richard Durbin (Illinois).

"The bill provides for the introduction of targeted sanctions against Russian officials involved in flagrant violations of international law, which includes the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny", - TASS quoted a statement as saying.

Along with sanctions punishing Navalny's poisoning and arrest, the bill requires the US administration to investigate and find out if Russia has violated "American laws prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons". The bill also requires a report on who is behind the assassination of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.

Among the economic sanctions that the senators are proposing to impose against Russia, the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is mentioned. According to the senators, the head of the US State Department should call on the German government to refuse to participate in this project.

Four months ago, senators already submitted a similar document to Congress, and it was sent for consideration to the relevant Senate committee. However, his further fate is not reported.

In the previous version of the document, unlike the new one, there were no clauses demanding the immediate release of Navalny and the compulsory calculation of those who ordered the murder of Nemtsov.

The situation with the arrest of politician Alexei Navalny caused a violent reaction in Russia and abroad. On January 17, Navalny, who was undergoing treatment in Germany after being poisoned with a Novichok-type combat poison, returned to Moscow, where he was immediately detained and placed under arrest. On February 2, the Simonovsky court sent him to jail for 3.5 years in the Yves Rocher case, the initiation of which was recognized by the ECHR as politically motivated.

In response to the introduction of the bill to the US Senate, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia would not hesitate to impose its own retaliatory sanctions if the law is passed.