Russian Efforts to Circumvent New US Sanctions

People walk at the annual Damascus International Fair, Syria September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
People walk at the annual Damascus International Fair, Syria September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
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Russian Efforts to Circumvent New US Sanctions

People walk at the annual Damascus International Fair, Syria September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
People walk at the annual Damascus International Fair, Syria September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

Russian reactions to the Caesar Act, a US law which came into force on Wednesday imposing new US sanctions on Syria and its allies, continued on Friday as diplomats downplayed its repercussions.

Russian diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Moscow warned the US during talks held between the two sides in February that the law “would be ineffective even if Washington insists on applying it.”

Therefore, Russians are ready to face and evade the sanctions, which target companies that deal with Bashar Assad's government.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said his country would not halt its military and economic cooperation with the Syrian government.

Former Russian ambassador Andrey Baklanov told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that there is no need to overreact to the new law.

The ambassador, who takes part in consultation talks on the Syrian war and other Middle Eastern issues, said that despite the Caesar Act, Moscow would find means to continue to offer military, technical, economic and financial support to Syria.

“Our efforts are not restricted to Syria. We will even continue … to support Iran and other countries in the region and outside that are affected by US sanctions,” Baklanov said.
He said Russia has a long experience in dealing with economic sanctions. “Moscow does not fear this development,” the former ambassador said.

The Russian diplomat said Moscow would be able to establish companies as alternatives to the firms that would exit the Syrian market.

Meanwhile, Andrey Chuprygin, a senior lecturer at the National Research University–Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Act would have a severe impact on Syrian citizens.

“The Americans say the sanctions aim to defend civilians but the problem is that this Act would negatively affect the entry of humanitarian aid and medial and food supplies to Syria,” he said.

“The sanctions would complicate the living conditions of Syrian citizens, who already suffer under dire economic conditions,” Chuprygin added.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.