Officials say change was in response to complaints by US technology firms about licencing troubles with FSB – but Moscow hopes for ‘easing’ from Trump

An adjustment to sanctions against the Russian intelligence agency FSB on Thursday appeared to be a minor tweak intended to avoid unforeseen repercussions for US consumer electronics companies – but that did not stop the change being trumpeted in Moscow as a new dawn for counter-terrorism cooperation.



The US Treasury amended sanctions imposed on the FSB by the Obama administration in December in retaliation for Russian interference in the US election.

According to Treasury officials the adjustment was “a very technical fix” that was a response to complaints from US technology firms about how their exports to Russia were being affected.

In Russia, the FSB has to license any import that contains encryption, including smartphones and other everyday consumer items. The December sanctions made it illegal for US companies to pay for those licences, and therefore unable to sell their products on the Russian market.

“It permits US companies to go to the FSB for import licences,” said Richard Nephew, a former senior state department official who worked extensively on sanctions. “I don’t really have a problem with that, unless it turns out to be some kind of Trojan horse for more changes down the line.”

Asked about the changes on Thursday, Trump said: “I’m not easing anything.”

There were multiple reports last week that the Trump White House was preparing to lift at least some of the Obama administration sanctions on Russia, but those rumours created a backlash in Congress and alarm among US allies.

The prime minister, Theresa May, used her visit to Washington last week to restate the government’s position that sanctions on Russia should not be lifted until it does its part to implement a Ukraine peace plan that would involve a ceasefire and a withdrawal of its forces. After an upsurge in fighting this week, that looked a distant prospect.

But there are still high expectations in Moscow that Trump’s election victory could lead to a speedy rapprochement with the US, and Thursday’s sanctions adjustment was portrayed by some Russian politicians and news agencies as the start of a new era.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television it was too early to say what effect the easing of this specific sanction would have. Others, however, rushed to suggest that the move heralded a new policy in Washington to increase cooperation in the security sector.



“This shows that actual joint work on establishing an anti-terrorism coalition is about to begin,” said Nikolai Kovalyov, MP and former director of the FSB, in comments to the Tass news agency. “This is the first step on the way leading to cooperation in the war on terror.”

Senator Lyudmila Bokova went further, suggesting to RIA Novosti that the “next logical step will be for both sides to understand we have to build trust and work together to battle cyber threats”.