Russian Companies Active In Syria At Risk of U.S. Sanctions

…

“The Russian-Syria nexus is a target-rich environment for potential Treasury designations,” said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-profit group that focuses on national security issues. “Given the strong cooperation between Moscow and Damascus, there are clearly strong economic links.”

If the U.S. aims at maximum impact, it should go after the Russian military industry that supplies the Assad regime, Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in an e-mail.

“The type of action the administration is taking, such as the sanctions against one Russian bank and one Russian bank official, seems to be more in line with its broader approach to Syria, which is ‘to send a message’ to the Assad regime, that it has to return to the negotiation table,” Badran said.

…