Russia Sanctions to Be Based on Kremlin Report's Classified Part - Ex-Official

On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department published its "Kremlin report," which lists 114 Russian politicians and 96 business leaders who may later be targeted with sanctions.

"The list, that was published, was not a serious piece of work," Fried said. "I think the future is as [Treasury] Secretary [Steven] Mnuchin hinted in the Senate yesterday, we picked up on sanctions based on the classified annex."

People who have been included in the list, Fried added, should not take it seriously. He also said nobody in President Donald Trump's administration defended the report.

The former official said the dynamic of the US-Russian relationship will now depend on the Russian government’s posture in Ukraine. Russia's aggressive behavior was predictable but Washington is not "racing to respond," he added.

"If [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s Russia behaved less aggressively, it would not be Putin’s Russia," Fried said.

The so-called "Kremlin report" was prepared in accordance with the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which was enacted by Trump on August 2. The document does not imply the automatic imposition of sanctions against the individuals listed in the document, however, designates them as those who are likely to face US restrictions in the future.

Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized the report as an "unfriendly move" by the United States that harmed relations between Moscow and Washington. Putin added that Moscow was not interested in scaling back relations with Washington and would refrain from retaliatory steps.