UPDATE: The White House is disputing the idea that we are easing sanctions on Russia, arguing that this is just a small carve out and doesn’t represent a shift in policy:
White House pushes back on assertion it's easing sanctions against Russia https://t.co/LKHdHCMjb9 pic.twitter.com/20p8tiKt1M
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 2, 2017
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It’s being reported now that the Treasury is easing US sanctions on Russia to allow companies to do business with the FSB:
BREAKING: US Treasury Dept easing Obama admin sanctions to allow companies to do transactions with Russia's FSB, successor org to KGB.
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) February 2, 2017
Trump Treasury amends Obama sanctions v Russia "Authorizing Certain Transactions with the Federal Security Service"https://t.co/RFDBTPJSuy
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 2, 2017
Wow. Treasury Dept relaxes the sanctions against Russia's FSB that Obama administration introduced in December: https://t.co/3al1lLiHkO
— Mary Louise Kelly (@NPRKelly) February 2, 2017
Here’s the Treasury doc that Tapper links to that explains it:
I’ll have more on this if it becomes available…