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The US Republican senator (from Florida) and the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Marco Rubio – AFP
US Republican Senator and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Marco Rubio has called for sanctions on Algeria’s purchasing of Russian weapons.
In a letter sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Rubio said he was writing with: “Deep concern as for the ongoing defence procurement between the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria and the Russian Federation.”
Rubio added, addressing Blinken: “As you know, Paragraph 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 directs the President to impose sanctions on parties engaged in significant transactions with the representatives of the defence or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation. The President delegated that authority to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury.”
“Russia is Algeria’s largest military supplier. Algeria is also among the top four purchasers of Russian arms worldwide, culminating with a $7 billion arms deal in 2021. Influx of money from any source to Russia will only further enable Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. Yet, sanctions available to you have not yet been utilised,” Rubio wrote.
Rubio concluded his letter by urging: “Accordingly, I encourage you to take the threat Russia continues to pose to global stability seriously and to appropriately designate parties whose significant purchase of Russian materiel enables Russia’s destabilising actions.”
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