DISINFO: US sanctions against Russia are illegal
SUMMARY
The United States uses the policy of trade sanctions, and these restrictions imposed on a number of countries are illegal from the point of view of international law.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about international sanctions against Russia.
In December 2018, the US imposed sanctions on Russian persons "in response to Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, election interference, malicious cyber-enabled activities, human rights abuses, use of a chemical weapon, weapons proliferation, illicit trade with North Korea, and support to Syria."
Earlier, In August 2017, the US imposed sanctions on Russia over its alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, its illegal annexation of Crimea, and its involvement in Syria’s civil war. At that time, sanctions were introduced against entities doing business with Russian military or intelligence agencies, companies involved in Russian off-shore oil projects, and those participating in Russian oil or gas pipeline construction within Russia.
The economic sanctions imposed on Russia were a reaction to Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Sanctions were imposed not only by the United States but also by Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and other European countries outside the EU, including Ukraine.