Kremlin accuses US of being 'unpredictable' after 'oligarchs' list's release

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The Kremlin on Thursday said the United States is a "very unpredictable" partner and that it could not predict if Washington would introduce additional sanctions aimed at its sovereign debt.

Asked about the prospect of Washington imposing sanctions on Russia's sovereign debt, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We deeply regret that we have to deal with a very unpredictable partner."

On Monday, the Trump administration said it would not immediately impose additional sanctions on Russia, despite a new law designed to punish Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 US election, insisting the measure was already hitting Russian companies.

But on Monday night, Treasury Department released an unclassified “oligarchs” list, including 114 senior Russian political figures as well as 96 business people whose names matched precisely a list of 96 Russian billionaires compiled by Forbes magazine last year.

Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom /Reuters Photo

The list includes:

- Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief spokesman Dimitry Peskov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.

- Representatives for Vladimir Potanin, co-owner of Norilsk Nickel, and Oleg Deripaska of Rusal.

- Metals magnate Alisher Usmanov, part-owner of London’s Arsenal soccer club, and Alexei Mordashov, co-owner of Severstal.

- German Gref, CEO of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, and Andrey Kostin, chief executive of No. 2 bank VTB.

- Alexei Miller, CEO of state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom.

Criticism from Russia

Russia’s elite has shrugged off the list as simply a “telephone directory” of the rich.

Although the sanctioning document said inclusion did not mean those named were likely to be sanctioned, Kremlin said it could damage the image and reputation of Russia's firms, businessmen, and politicians.

Addressing supporters in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said the sheer number of top officials included on the list was "unfriendly," but Moscow did not currently plan to retaliate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on an electronic screen during a meeting with his confidants ahead of the upcoming presidential election in Moscow, Jan. 30, 2018. /Reuters Photo

"It is, of course, an unfriendly act. It will complicate the difficult situation Russian-American relations are already in, and of course harm international relations as a whole,” Putin said.

But Putin said he still wants to improve ties with the United States and will refrain from any immediate retaliation.

Criticisms from domestic

Democrats blasted the decision, accusing Trump of failing to do everything possible to deter any future foreign election interference.

Twenty Senate Democrats sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday saying the failure to impose sanctions was “unacceptable.”

Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said there was “real concern” about possible Russian meddling in 2018 US congressional and state elections, adding: “The president of the United States is not taking action to defend this nation.”

Source(s): Reuters