WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But first: The Trump administration yesterday announced new sanctions on Russia.
They're in response to Moscow's use of a nerve agent on a former Russian double agent, Sergei
Skripal, and his daughter.
The attack occurred earlier this year in Britain.
Russia has denied any involvement.
Daniel Fried had a 40-year career in the Foreign Service.
He served on the National Security Council for both Republican and Democratic presidents,
and during the Obama administration, he crafted U.S. sanctions against Russia when it invaded
Ukraine.
Welcome back to the "NewsHour."
DANIEL FRIED, Former State Department Official: Thanks for having me.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So how big a deal with these new sanctions on Russia?
DANIEL FRIED: It's significant that we are making the Russians pay a price for their
nerve gas attack in the U.K.
The sanctions themselves aren't huge.
They're modest to moderate, and -- in the first round.
There will be -- there will have to be a second round, or probably be a second round.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The second round, these are the ones that could end up being imposed
right around our Election Day in November.
DANIEL FRIED: Yes.
The way the law is written, the first round of sanctions comes quickly, and then there
is a three-month pause.
And if the offending country has not stopped or given us assurances that it won't do it
again, the administration has to apply new sanctions from a menu.
That menu goes from light to very heavy.
So the Trump administration is going to have choices to make.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So there is some flexibility that they have to go very strong on these
or to go softer on those?
DANIEL FRIED: That's right.
And there are waiver provisions in the law.
So, the administration will not be boxed in and forced to do something stupid.
I think that they're going to judge the additional sanctions based on what Russia is doing, but
it's a -- it's a significant step.
The Russian markets took a hit today, and that's because sanctions are a game of expectations.
Are they going up?
Are they going down?
Is the administration determined?
And I think the Russians are beginning to realize that whatever deal or arrangement
they thought they had or believed they might have with President Trump, the U.S. administration
is acting in this area and others to push back on Russian aggression, which is a good
thing.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So is it your sense then that these sanctions will have an impact and
actually change Russian behavior?
DANIEL FRIED: That -- I don't want to be extravagant and suggest that suddenly the Russians are
going to see these sanctions and retreat.
But certainly it shows that the Russian nerve gas attack in the U.K. is not going to be
ignored, that the United States stepped up and acted in solidarity with the U.K., with
a European ally.
That's a good thing.
And it's an important lesson to the Russians, that they don't have a free-fire zone to start
murdering their political opponents around the world while we stand by.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: This, of course, is coming in the midst of a very uncertain relationship
with the Russians.
Even put aside Ukraine and Syria, put aside concerns over past meddling in our elections
and perhaps future meddling in our elections.
This has got to be a very difficult moment for the administration to figure out how to
respond.
DANIEL FRIED: Well, there are two levels of difficulty.
One, it is difficult to know the best way to push back against Russian aggression, especially
when it's in so many areas.
The Russians invade their neighbor Ukraine.
They interfere in our elections.
They try to assassinate people they don't like around the world.
They're engaged in various corrupt activities all over the place.
So it's hard to know how to work -- how to figure -- it's hard to figure out how best
to deal with this challenge.
But there's a second challenge.
You have an administration which is acting one way, and a president who is speaking in
an entirely different way.
And I have never seen this before.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You're describing the sort of cleavage between the administration saying,
we're going to impose sanctions, we're going to crack down, we're going to sanction the
Russians.
And yet the president seems completely unwilling to publicly say to Russia, say to Vladimir
Putin, stop.
DANIEL FRIED: Before that notorious press conference in Helsinki, when President Trump
met President Putin, President Trump said publicly that the problems in U.S.-Russian
relations were largely the fault of America.
He blamed America first.
I have never seen a president do that, ever.
We didn't cause these problems.
Vladimir Putin did.
And to have the president go into his meeting with Putin by throwing rocks at his own country
is something I have never seen.
I have seen divided governments, a State Department, Defense Department, NSC all have a different
position, everybody wrangles.
Sure, normal.
But to have everybody lined up on one side, and the president on another side, I don't
know what to make of that.
It is, let's say, strange.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Daniel Fried of the Atlantic Council, thank you very much.
DANIEL FRIED: My pleasure.