The House just voted to give the President “broad authority to sanction virtually anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they are connected to Russia or not,” Rep Thomas Massie (KY-R) reports. “This was slipped into the Russian sanctions bill on pages 19, 20, 21,” Massie said. The bill amends the Magnitsky Act to say the President can sanction “any foreign person” acting on behalf of Russia... 

Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski believes that the Cold War is ongoing between Russia and the EU that can take a long time. Both European officials and the Russian leadership have already stated that economic integration with the EU and membership in the Customs Union are incompatible. Ukraine and Moldova have about one month left for consideration. Armenia has already “surrendered,” according... 

Deputy Head of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Sergei Ryabkov Moscow has prepared a “Guantanamo List” including the names of US officials accused of violating human rights of Russian citizens in the US as well as in areas under American jurisdiction. The list which, imposes visa restrictions on the accused US officials, was confirmed on Friday. The measure came in retaliation for Washington’s... 

The Russian State Duma may adopt a law prohibiting foreign nationals from working at Russia’s state-owned TV channels. The proposed law came as a reaction to the statements made by well-known journalist Vladimir Pozner on Channel One. In his show, Pozner criticized both the “Magnitsky Act” and the retaliatory law approved by the State Duma and the Federation Council (at the time... 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Kremlin, in Moscow, after he told top officials in the Kremlin that he intends to sign into law a bill banning Americans from adopting Russian children, December 27, 2012. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he intends to sign into law a bill that bans Americans from adopting Russian children. “I do not yet see any reason why I should not sign it,”... 

U.S. meat supplies to Russia have been banned. The Russian Federation and the United States differ in the assessment of the causes of the situation. Russia claims that the reason for the ban was the presence of ractopamine drug in US meat. America insists that Russia’s actions were a response to the adoption of the Magnitsky Act by the Senate and accuses Russia of violating WTO rules. On December... 

The United States Senate, Washington, DC The US Senate has passed by an overwhelming majority a new bill normalizing trading relations with the Russian Federation, while at the same time criticizing its former adversary’s human rights record. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would take similar, reciprocative actions. “During a meeting with Hillary Clinton in Dublin,...