Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise to speak against the resolution to disapprove of the administration's agreement to delist Rusal, the Russian aluminum giant from the SDN list. I will vote no today because this was a hard-fought negotiation, resulting in one of the strongest agreements ever associated with a sanctions delisting, which supports longstanding U.S. sanctions policy and foreign policy toward Russia. This agreement does nothing to change the sealed fate of Deripaska, the direct target of the sanctions. He remains sanctioned. His current assets remain blocked. The primary and secondary sanctions imposed against him dash any hope of future deals or income, either by operation of his divestiture obligations or future dividends based on his remaining shareholder interests in Rusal. His ability to transfer his shares, use his shares as collateral, or even receive cash from dividends are all effectively frozen. The sanctions that put Deripaska on the SDN list and froze his investments in Rusal and En+ and ESE, and make him personally radioactive to future transactions with just about anyone, forced these companies to disentangle themselves from Deripaska's control and influence or to face financial devastation. In fact, the Treasury agreement appropriately reflects how U.S. sanctions policy uses smart sanctions to change the behavior of those sanctioned to build pressure behind the ultimate goals of U.S. policy toward Putin's Russia.…”