RIAC Director Kortunov: Bill on new sanctions is still far from being approved
Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Photo: Komsomolskaya Pravda / Globallookpress.com
The bill on sanctions against Russia, presented in the US Congress, is still far from being approved, and in this situation it would be superfluous to be afraid of it, just as it would be to take the statements of Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky for Russia's official position. Such a comparison in an interview with Lente.ru was proposed by Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), an expert of the Valdai Club.
“We need to make an amendment to the fact that the bill on sanctions is only at the Congress level so far. If we take every statement of Vladimir Zhirinovsky as the position of the Kremlin, then we can go far,” Kortunov said.
On January 12, a bill on new sanctions against Russia in the event of an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine was presented in the US Congress. Among the proposals of the authors of the document are a ban on operations with Russia's primary and secondary government debt, restrictions against the Russian banking sector and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The imposition of sanctions personally against Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the highest officials of the country, is also being considered.
The leader and founder of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vladimir Zhirinovsky, is known for a number of resonant statements. In particular, he predicted the evacuation of millions of US residents to Siberia, called for the bombing of Ukraine on New Year's Eve, and suggested that the Russian president be renamed Supreme Ruler.
