Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Co-Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, has written a follow-up letter to President Biden seeking sanctions against Russian oligarch and Putin ally Roman Abramovich. In the new letter, Congressman Cohen also recommends sanctions against suspected Putin mistress, Alina Kabaeva.
The letter reads in part:
“Abramovich is one of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s most notorious oligarchs and has been sanctioned by our allies in the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. In order for sanctions to have the maximum effect, the United States must also impose sanctions on him in concert with our allies.
“While I understand that the reason behind not sanctioning Abramovich is that President Zelensky believes he is crucial to peace negotiations, I don’t believe that he has significant influence over Putin. I met with Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Bill Browder this week. I asked them if Roman Abramovich was as instrumental to a peace deal as everyone claims, and they both said no.
“I also ask that you consider sanctioning Putin’s alleged mistress, Alina Kabaeva. Kabaeva became chair on the board of directors at the National Media Group, a large media conglomerate in Russia, in 2014. Kabaeva was given this position, no doubt because of her close relationship with Putin. While there, she was receiving an annual salary of $10 million. She must be sanctioned because she is a member of Putin’s inner circle who is benefitting from his nefarious actions and illegal war.”
Original source can be found here.
