Written by Sally Shakkour
The White House has mocked Russia for imposing retaliatory sanctions on American officials including President Joe Biden’s late father. Moscow announced sanctions on more than a dozen US leaders, including President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki said in a press conference after being asked by one of the journalists on how Russia's sanctions are going to affect US officials as Moscow has mistakenly omitted the suffix ‘junior’ from Joe Biden’s name and ended up accidentally sanctioning the president’s dead father.
المتحدثة باسم البيت الأبيض تسخر من عقوبات روسيا:
— الأحداث الأمريكية?? (@US_World1) March 15, 2022
"الرئيس اسمه "جو بايدن جونيور (الإبن)".. ربما فرضوا عقوبات على والده.. فليرقد بسلام". pic.twitter.com/SBnFFSEAFa
Psaki replied to reporters: “I would first note that President Biden is a junior, so they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace.”
She added regarding US officials’ ban from entering Russia that none of the names mentioned in the sanctions are planning tourist trips to Russia. The spokeswoman also added none of the US officials has a bank account in Moscow.
US: sanctions Lukashenko 38 times to cover every possible combination of spelling his names in English.
— Jake Cordell (@JakeCordell) March 15, 2022
Russia: sanctions Joe Biden’s dead father by forgetting to add Jr. to the end of his name. https://t.co/vOcP9D46pV pic.twitter.com/0gl7WKuAgC
Russia can’t even sanction the right Joe Biden? Many commented online mocking Russia’s latest set of sanctions against American officials including Biden’s father Joseph R. Biden Sr. who died in September 2002.
On the other hand, other people have taken the conversation to another direction saying that laughing about Russian sanctions and the war in Ukraine will not help in ending the conflict urging Biden’s administration to be more serious in handling the conflict issues.
If Jen Psaki joked about this then you can tell how serious this administration is about stopping this war. What is with all of the joking and laughing about with this administration! They are pathetic, useless, and corrupt to the core. https://t.co/Oi9O9dqDrG
— NC Beach (@NCBeach3) March 15, 2022
In a statement shared on Facebook, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the new sanctions against main US officials came in revenge for the harsh sanctions imposed by the United States and European countries.
The Ministry justified in the post that Russia’s "stop-list" includes “Biden, Secretary of State E. Blinken, Minister of Defense L. Austin and Chairman of the United Committee of Heads of Staff M. Milly, as well as a number of department heads and famous American leaders.”
(They're joking about this to avoid talking about Hunter being sanctioned as well) https://t.co/PR77Ksy4IC
— Anthony Abides (@AnthonyAbides) March 15, 2022
In another story, Russia on Tuesday also blacklisted over 310 Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Following the Russian invasion and President Putin’s ‘special military operation’ of Ukraine, the Biden Administration, EU, and NATO countries have imposed sanctions on main Russian officials and oligarchs with the aim of pressuring Moscow to withdraw its forces and stop the attacks on Kyiv.
