The US is edging towards the eventual implementation of a new round of sanctions against Russia after the State Department provided Congress with a list of Russian defense and intelligence entities, missing the deadline by almost a month.
“Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has authorized the department to issue guidance to the public specifying the persons or entities that are part of or operating on behalf of the defense or intelligence sectors of the government of the Russian Federation,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said. “What that means is that Secretary Tillerson has signed off on this and it is now being held on Capitol Hill.”
The State Department is “currently informing Congress, key US industries stakeholders and our allies and partners” of the directive, she added.The list includes over thirty Russian defense sector entities, starting with the state-owned Russian Technologies State Corporation, Rostec. The titan of Russia’s civil and military production, Rostec incorporates roughly 700 entities which form 14 holding companies which manufacture anything from AvtoVAZ cars to Kamaz trucks.
Rostec also controls Rosoboronexport, the sole Russian state intermediary agency responsible for the import and export of defense arms which is also on the list. Some of the other companies working with Rostec, such as the world-famous AK-47 producer Kalashnikov Concern JSC, is a potential target as well.
New targets of US sanctions also include six entities working in the Russian intelligence sphere. The Federal Security Service (FSB), Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) are the agencies that stand out from the list.
The State Department's move forms part of the implementation of the ‘Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017.’ The legislation was passed by the Senate on July 27 and ushered in new sanctions against Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
In early August, President Donald Trump signed the act into a law, promising to provide a list of individuals and organizations that should be added to the sanctions list by October 1.
The State Department, however, failed to compile their list on time, pushing back the deadline by almost a month.
