Adeyemo sat down with the network's senior White House correspondent, Kayla Tausche, to explain how the US was successfully using economic sanctions to hurt the Russian economy with the purported goal of stopping the military offensive against Kiev. Russia is feeling the pain, as evidenced by its continued suspension of the domestic stock trade, devaluation of the ruble, and restrictions on the withdrawal of foreign currency from banks, the official said.
Tausche asked him about the request that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly made to his US counterpart, Joe Biden to block Russia's access to international waterways. Adeyemo neither confirmed nor denied that Washington was considering the proposal, saying instead that the US was committed to pursuing Ukraine's cause.
"We're going to use export controls to degrade [Russia's] ability to project power into the future, all of which are consistent with what President Zelensky has been asking us to do," the Treasury's second most senior officer said.
Comment: Zelensky is a US-installed puppet, little more, he doesn't make requests, he carries them out.
Blocking a nation's trade ships from using international waters by force would be considered an act of war. In fact, the US has for decades declared freedom of navigation to be a major foreign policy priority - the Pentagon has sent warships on missions in the South China Sea on numerous occasions, including parts claimed by China.
Comment: The last time the UK and US tried to simply sail through Russian waters, it was chased out with its tail between its legs: Secret British military docs 'found near BUS STOP' reveal UK foresaw furious Russian reaction to Crimea incursion
Kiev has made other proposals to the US and its allies that would have required them to use military force against Russia. One idea was establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would require NATO members to shoot down Russian military aircraft operating in Ukrainian airspace. Washington has repeatedly said it would not involve its military in the Ukrainian crisis, fearing that otherwise it would escalate into a world war.
Comment: The US will use the Ukrainian military and any foreign mercenaries as cannon fodder instead.
The CNBC host implied that the option of a full Russia trade blockade was on the table as she asked whether Washington considered restricting exports from the country too costly for the US and other Western countries.
Adeyemo said the Biden administration regards sanctions on Russia "with an eye towards mitigation," meaning "making sure that we are having a minimal impact on our economy." The oil embargo is one example of that approach, because the US produces most of the oil it consumes and can act from a position of power against Moscow, he explained.
Comment: If the US was so confident in its oil supply, why has it suddenly tried to shore up support from its allies and even those it had declared as enemies? As a sign of the signficant geopolitical shift occurring, it hasn't been well received: Why the UAE is shrugging off Washington's diktats
The US official acknowledged that there will be blowback from the sanctions nevertheless, but claimed that "the American people and our allies are willing to pay a cost in order to make sure that we defend freedom."
He also took a jab at China, claiming it will not be able to substitute for the Western nations in meeting the needs of the Russian economy and the sanctioned Russian elites.
"China can't give Russia what it doesn't have. China doesn't have cutting edge technology," Adeyemo said.
"When you think about Russian elites, they are not buying homes in Shanghai and Beijing, they are buying them in London and in New York. And what we've agreed to do among the G7 is both freeze their assets and seize their assets."
Comment: Criminals and dictators bought homes in Western cities because not only were they welcomed with open arms, but many of these cities cater to their corrupt dealings as well as their vices, not to mention the overpriced housing market. It's also likely because they, basically bet on the wrong horse; they thought the sun would never set on the West's empire.
The deputy secretary said Washington expects China, "like every other country in the world," to abide by its restrictions. Beijing has been highly critical of the sanctions and accused the US of instigating the crisis in Ukraine in the first place by pursuing NATO's eastward expansion towards Russia's borders.
Comment: China already ignores numerous US sanctions, and it's likely that China, and possibly India, will be the main players helping others circumvent them: Can India facilitate the Global South's alternative financial transactions with Russia?
EU piling more sanctions on Russia Around 600 Russian individuals and multiple businesses are targeted
The EU has agreed on the fourth package of sanctions against Russia aiming to pressure Moscow to stop its ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The detailed package will be published in the 'Official Journal of the EU' and come into force later on Tuesday.
Comment: Because the first, second, and third, didn't achieve what they'd intended.
According to a press release from the European Commission, under the new package, the EU bans any transactions with certain Russian state-owned enterprises across different sectors, calling them "the Kremlin's military-industrial complex." The names of the targeted firms have not been unveiled yet, however, according to an earlier Reuters report, Russian energy majors Rosneft, Gazprom Neft, Transneft and other state-owned companies with a turnover of more than 1 trillion rubles ($9 billion) are to be targeted.
The bloc also prohibits imports of steel products currently under EU safeguard measures, "amounting to approximately €3.3 billion in lost export revenue for Russia." It plans to compensate for the losses by introducing increased import quotas to "other third countries."
Comment: It's likely Russia will eventually find other customers.
The package also includes a ban on new investment across the Russian energy sector, but makes "limited exceptions" for civil nuclear energy and the transport of certain energy products back to the EU.
Comment: Because the EU as we know it would cease to function without Russian gas: Europe facing reality that Russian gas is irreplaceable
The bloc extends the list of sanctioned Russian individuals and entities "to include more oligarchs and business elites linked to the Kremlin, as well as companies active in military and defense areas, which are logistically and materially supporting" Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.
Comment: But oligarchs that are persona non-grata in Russia are likely still welcome to spend their ill-gotten gains in the West.
Earlier reports stated that the list of sanctioned individuals will include Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and 14 other Russian billionaires. In order to "directly hit Russian elites," the EU will also place an export ban on luxury goods to Russia, including luxury cars and jewelry.
Comment: This may be on par with the UK supermarket that changed the spelling of chicken kiev, to chicken kyiv, in 'solidarity' with Ukraine.
Moreover, the bloc will prohibit EU credit rating agencies to rate Russia and Russian companies to make sure they lose "even further access to the EU's financial markets."
Finally, "the EU, together with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, agreed today to deny Russian products and services most favored nation treatment in EU markets."
"This will suspend the significant benefits that Russia enjoys as a WTO member. These actions against Russia protect the essential security interests of the EU and its partners in light of Russia's unprovoked, premeditated and unjustified aggression against Ukraine, assisted by Belarus. They are fully justified under WTO law," the Council of the European Commission said in the press release. According to trade analysts, the step could lead to the imposition of punitive tariffs or a complete ban on Russian goods imports to the bloc.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previously said the EU is also working to suspend Russia's membership rights of leading multilateral institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, these measures were not mentioned in Tuesday's package.
Ahead of the meeting of the bloc's finance ministers in Brussels earlier on Tuesday, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the press the EU is "considering all options" to pressure Russia to stop the operation in Ukraine, which has been heavily criticized by many Western states.
Comment: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Russian Operations in Ukraine Proceeding as Planned, But Risk of War Contagion Grows