Posts Tagged ‘yaroshenko’
Russia’s WTO accession sparks debate over human-rights legislation
Russia’s expected invitation to join the World Trade Organization next month has ignited debate in Congress on a bill that targets Russian human-rights abuse and a trade law that could hurt U.S. businesses.
The debate over punishing Russian human-rights abusers and voiding a Cold War-era trade law poses a test for the Obama administration’s “reset” in relations with the former Soviet republic.
As a WTO member, Russia would enjoy regulated access to U.S. markets, even as Moscow has backslid on democratic reforms by cracking down on dissenters, limiting opposition and restricting the press.
Russia has threatened to end cooperation with the U.S. on Iran sanctions and Afghan transit if the U.S. implements the proposed Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act.
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In Eye for Eye, U.S. Citizens Banned
An unpleasant surprise might await the next White House or Pentagon official who decides to go sightseeing in Moscow or take a dip at Sochi’s beaches: no visa.
The Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that it has banned entry for unspecified senior U.S. officials, “mirroring” a ban imposed by the U.S. State Department on Russian officials linked to the death of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
The ministry hinted that the blacklist tit-for-tat could endanger a U.S.-Russian reset in relations. But an independent analyst said Russia’s ban was largely ceremonial because Moscow, if it were serious, would have targeted U.S. businesspeople in Russia.
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Remember Sergei Magnitsky
Who’s really running Russia? The smart money has been on Vladimir Putin, and the case of Sergei Magnitsky appears to underscore that conclusion. How the Magnitsky case is resolved will reveal the extent of Mr. Putin’s reach, even though Dmitry Medvedev serves as president.
Mr. Magnitsky was arrested by Russia’s Interior Ministry in 2008 shortly after he declared that he had evidence of police corruption and embezzlement at the ministry. The complaint said he had helped a client, American-owned investment firm Hermitage Capital, evade taxes. He died after 11 months in prison.
Now Russia has indicted two doctors for his death in a case that exudes the smell of a cover-up. It has strained U.S.-Russian relations and tested the relative powers of President Medvedev, an advocate of the rule of law, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
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