Having blocked additional sanctions on Russia, Trump is now lifting the ones already in place
A recent OFAC update is very worrying
I published this piece a few weeks ago, after Trump’s early departure from the G7 to enable him to join in the Israeli war against Iran meant that an enhanced sanctions package against Russia, one of the main objectives of the summit, was not achieved.
The Other Thing Happening This Week
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For some reason, Donald Trump hates the G7. Perhaps it’s because it forces him to be treated as an equal with leaders of nations that he looks down on - stodgy democracies like France, Canada, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan, not the exciting blingy dictatorships in the Gulf where he thinks he can make a trillion dollar deal. Perhaps it’s because the G…
This has now gone a step further: thanks to reporting from
I have now seen that OFAC (the part of the US Treasury that handles sanctions) has now lifted sanctions on Russian banks regarding civil nuclear industry matters. I suspect this relates in part to the fact that the US relies on Russia for nuclear fuel for its power stations (in itself an extraordinary example of a lack of national resilience, but unlike Trump’s tariffs on steel on the pretext of national security, not one that appears to trouble the President). But, as Dean points out here, the sanctions lift merely offers more breathing space to these Kremlin-aligned institutions to make money for Putin. Once again, Trump’s behaviour is that of a Russian agent of influence. If we knew for sure he was one, what would we be expecting him to do that he isn’t already?