Rabat – A few days after a group of US senators called for the “immediate” sanctioning of Algeria over its arms deal with Russia, the US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Petal stated that any support for Moscow is “deeply problematic.”
During the daily briefing on Friday, Petal’s comments were shared in response to a reporter’s question on the senators’ letter.
While the US Department cannot comment on congressional correspondence, stressed Patel, the spokesperson said: “Any country continuing to support Russia as it relates to its conflict in Ukraine right now, its unjust and its unlawful infringement on Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, would be deeply problematic.”
On September 14, US Senator Marco Rubio, Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, called for the sanctioning of the Algerian regime in a letter to the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
Rubio also argued that the Algerian purchase of Russian weapons violated the “Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act” (CAATSA).
The act enables Washington to sanction any party that “engaged in significant transactions with representatives of the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation.”
Two weeks later, twenty-seven Republican and Democratic Senators called for the “immediate” sanctioning of the Algerian regime, stating that the North African country allocated $7 billion for the purchase of Russian arms in 2021.
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The letter addressed to the secretary of state stressed that “this military transfer has made Algeria the 3rd largest recipient of Russian arms in the world.”
The bipartisan senators in agreement on the situation urged the Biden Administration to take measures to address the situation. “The United States needs to send a clear message to the world the support of Vladimir Putin, and his regime’s barbaric war efforts will not be tolerated,” they stated.
In addition to American concerns over the Algerian financing of the war in Ukraine, some analysts have warned of Algerian-Russian interference in the unstable region of the Sahel.
Speaking to Morocco World News, Political Analyst Lahcen Haddad indicated earlier this week that Algeria’s partnership with Russia represents a threat to regional stability.
Haddad further stressed Russia’s continuous involvement in coup d’etats like in Burkina Faso through its paramilitary organization, the Wagner Group.
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