PACE restores authority of Russia, U.S. imposes latest Crimea sanctions

The Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe voted on Jan. 29 to restore the full
authority of the Russian delegation, dismissing most of the amendments and
appeals led by the Ukrainian delegation to restrict its authority. The measure
drew 96 votes in favor, mostly from the MPs of Western European countries, and
44 against, mostly from the MPs of Eastern European countries, the
eurointegration.com.ua news site reported. The legislation stressed that Russia
has made progress in its relations with PACE by renewing its financing and
releasing Ukrainian sailors in October. At the same time, it accepted
amendments that also stressed Crimea remains illegally annexed by Russia, and
the requirements imposed on Russia related to its occupation remain relevant.
Russian MP Piotr Tolstoy was elected to be among the assembly’s 20 vice
presidents.

The U.S. Treasury
Department decided on Jan. 29 to impose its latest of round of sanctions
against seven Crimean officials, including the prime minister, the head of
legislative meetings, the Sevastopol representative in the Federation Council,
the acting head of Sevastopol, and three members of the Sevastopol executive
committee, the Voice of America news agency reported. It also imposed sanctions
against Aleksandr Ganov, the director of Grand Servis Ekspres, a company
involved in the construction of the railroad between the peninsula and Russia.
“The coordinated sanctions between the U.S., the E.U. and Canada restrict the
ability of these illegal officials to conduct international business and
underlines the strength of the transatlantic union in counteracting the
extended Russian aggression,” said in a statement Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin. The same day, the Canadian government announced it is imposing
sanctions on six individuals involved in the illegitimate elections held in
Russian-occupied Crimea.

Zenon Zawada: These
latest events reflect the general trend of the E.U. leaning towards relaxing
sanctions against Russia, and the U.S. interested in intensifying them. If
Ukrainian President Zelensky reaches some kind of a peace deal with the
Russians on Donbas this year, we can expect further efforts in European
institutions to relax sanctions, largely driven by the desire to renew trade.