On the basis of reciprocity… Russia imposed sanctions on US President Joe Biden and 12 other US officials

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions against U.S. President Joe Biden, along with 12 senior U.S. officials.

The Russian sanctions list includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Deputy National Security Advisor Dalip Singh, Director of the United States Agency for International Development Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Ademo, and President of the Export-Import Bank Reta Jo Lewis.

The list included people outside the administration: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

In a statement published by TASS, the ministry said that it applies sanctions on the basis of reciprocity, prohibiting the entry of such persons into Russia and freezing any assets of such persons in the country.

Although the listed Americans do not have significant financial interests in Russia, the move is a reflection of a growing gap between the United States and Russia following the latter’s invasion of Ukraine.

But the State Department said it maintains formal relations with Washington and, if necessary, will ensure high-level contacts with those on the list.

Western countries have already imposed sanctions on senior Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, his foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The United States yesterday announced sanctions against 11 Russian defense officials, and indicated that it might sanction Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus who is allied with Moscow.

Earlier, Britain imposed sanctions on another 370 Russian personnel, including former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.