Russia to Retaliate Over US Magnitsky Rights Act
Russia to Retaliate Over US Magnitsky Rights Act
With this grandstand bill the congress & McCain are stepping on state turf and practicing wingnut diplomacy. Chances of it being signed as part of some trade off are pretty good, but this issue is between Russia, the UK, and Europe when you boil it down to essentials.
Russia says it will bar Americans guilty of human rights violations, in response to a US bill that targets Russians guilty of such offences.
“a performance in the theatre of the absurd”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had informed his US counterpart Hillary Clinton of Moscow’s decision.
“We will bar entry to Americans who are in fact guilty of human rights violations,” he said.
The US bill, adopted by Congress on Thursday, normalises trade with Russia, but blacklists Russian rights abusers.
The legislation passed by large majorities in the House and Senate, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it into law.
Under the bill, the US would withhold visas and freeze financial assets of Russian officials thought to have been involved with human rights violations.
The Russian foreign ministry called the bill “a performance in the theatre of the absurd”.
It warned that the measure would have a “very negative impact on the prospects for bilateral co-operation”.