On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hallie Jackson Reports,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) stated that the sanctions against Russia announced by President Joe Biden “cannot be the end of it” and called for the sanctioning of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, “so it’s a clear message to Putin, you’re not going to get it online anytime.”
Menendez said, “I think the president’s announcement is a good first tranche of sanctions, but it cannot be the end of it. I think the sanctions on these particular banks, VEB bank is one of the most substantial banks. It was on my list of banks in my legislation that I wanted to sanction. This is a bank that is definitely going to hurt the elites. It is a development bank. It’s a payment agent for [the] Russian government, so that’s a good one. The military bank is also where the military financing flows through. That’s a good one, too. Blocking sanctions are the most significant sanctions that you can render against a bank.”
He continued, “But I think there are other banks that need to be considered. Sovereign debt, that’s a solid action. We had that on our list as well. This means that Russia’s not going to be able to raise money from the west. It’s not going to be able to trade new debt in western markets. That’s very significant. … And of course, Nord Stream, I am very pleased to see the German government’s action. I actually think that we should join them by lifting our waivers that we have on sanctions and proceeding with those as well so it’s a clear message to Putin, you’re not going to get it online anytime.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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