RPT: Possible US Sanctions On Russia Unlikely To Target Business - AmCham President

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th September, 2020) New US sanctions on Moscow are possible over the Navalny case, however, such measures will not be linked to business and will likely be tied to arms control, Alexis Rodzianko, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), told Sputnik.

The poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny in late August prompted a few officials in Europe and other Western countries to call for sanctioning Russia over it, although Moscow's role has not been substantiated. The discourse focused specifically on the calls to halt the Nord Stream 2 project, a massive offshore pipeline designed to pump Russian gas directly to Germany, currently in the final phase of construction. Washington has long opposed this pipeline in order to promote its own gas deliveries to Europe.

"New sanctions are possible, but they are not as directly linked to business, they are more related to arms control.

These discussions have to do with chemical weapons. There has not been an investigation that is completed yet and it is too soon to say whether there is or isn't a violation of the Chemical Weapons Treaty. That is not for us to decide, that is for the relevant international agencies under the terms of this Treaty. Certainly, the Navalny case is not a good thing, I would hope that things like this wouldn't happen," Rodzianko said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Moscow would respond reciprocally if the Western countries impose new sanctions over the Navalny case.

Navalny is currently undergoing treatment at the Charite hospital in Berlin. His condition has improved and he longer is on a ventilator and can get out of bed, according to the German hospital.

The New York Times reported earlier in the day that Navalny said he wanted to return to Russia and continue his political activities.