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United States Lifts Sanctions Against Five Russian Entities By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — The United States has terminated nonproliferation-related sanctions imposed against four Russian entities and one individual during the late 1990s, according to two notices published today in the Federal Register (see GSN, Sept. 16, 2003). In 1998, the United States imposed sanctions against Europalace 2000, the State Scientific Research Institute of Graphite (Grafit) and the MOSO Co. for aiding Iran’s ballistic missile program, a U.S. State Department official told Global Security Newswire today. The United States the following year sanctioned the Scientific Research and Design Institute of Power Technology, also known as NIKIET, for aiding Iran’s nuclear efforts, according to the official. The sanctions imposed against the four Russian academic institutions and companies were for an indefinite duration and included a ban on U.S. government assistance and procurement and a ban on imports to the United States, the State Department official said. The sanctions were lifted today because there was no evidence that the four entities were still aiding Iran, because such a move was found to be in the U.S. national interest, or both, the official said. He added that the U.S. Commerce Department is working to lift an additional sanction that required U.S. companies to obtain governmental approval before exporting items to the entities. The State Department also announced today that sanctions have been formally lifted against Anatoliy Kuntsevich, who was sanctioned in 1995 for engaging in chemical weapons proliferation activities. The State Department official said that Kuntsevich was aiding the chemical weapons program of a state sponsor of terrorism, but refused to identify the country. The State Department lists seven countries on its official terrorism sponsor list — Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Sudan. In the mid-1990s, Kuntsevich, a retired Russian lieutenant general of chemical troops, was charged with illegally shipping 800 kilograms of precursor chemicals to Syria and of attempting to smuggle an additional 5.5 tons of chemicals, according to reports. Russian authorities, though, later dropped those charges. The sanctions against Kuntsevich have been officially terminated because he is dead, the State Department official said. A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington told GSN today that Moscow “appreciates” the U.S. decision to remove sanctions against several entities. Russia now hopes that the United States will “objectively” examine the federal entities that are still under sanctions and choose to terminate the measures, embassy spokesman Yevgeniy Khorishko said.
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