U.S. Congress prepares package of measures against Russia. Ecuador rejects threats

  
Members of the US Congress are developing a set of restrictive measures against Russia because of the situation with former CIA officer Edward Snowden, reports The Daily Beast. 

“We are exploring what are the leverage points. I’m trying to put together a package to let the Russians know how serious we are”, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told The Daily Beast in an interview.

“This government has been corrupted. They don’t have a real legislature. All institutions of democracies have been diminished in Russia, and when people do that inside their country they are not generally inclined to follow the rule of law outside their country”, said the senator. Graham declined to elaborate on what his “package” of items to pressure Russia might include.

Putin’s trying to recreate the old Soviet Union attitude and image, said Graham. – Putin’s handling of the Snowden issue is only the latest sign that Russia is backsliding when it comes to democracy and the rule of law”, concluded the senator.

As a result of leak organized by Snowden it become known that American intelligence agencies have access to the data of millions of phone calls, as well as to the servers of the largest Internet companies.

Snowden moved from Hong Kong to Moscow, where, according to media reports, he’s still stays – in the transit area of ​​an international airport Sheremetyevo.

Meanwhile, Ecuadorian authorities said they did not obey the US threats and refused to trade benefits with the United States. Ecuadorians have explained its decision as follows: “they do not sell their principles” – and do not miss the chance to gloat.

Ecuador mockingly suggested US financial assistance in the amount of $ 23 million (the same amount of Ecuador gets in the form of trade preferences) on the development in the country Institute for the Protection of Human Rights, reports Reuters.

“Ecuador unilaterally and irrevocably renounces these preferential customs tariff rights”, said the country’s communications minister Fernando Alvarado. He explained that the decision was made in order to deprive Washington of leverage on the republic.

“Ecuador does not accept pressure or threats from anyone, nor does it trade with principles or submit them to mercantile interests, however important those may be”, said the Minister.

Following with the same statement was made by President Rafael Correa. According to him, the US threat will not affect the position of Ecuador regarding Edward Snowden.

“We were pressured and threatened to remove customs the preferential tariffs because of the Snowden case, said the head of state. – Our dignity has no price, and even more, Ecuador has offered to help the US economy in order to ensure the protection of human rights in the United States”.

In his speech, Correa said that Washington holds double standards on human rights, saying that “we understand the need for tools to fight terrorism, but we can not accept the fact that for these purposes the rights of nations are violated”.

“Ecuador has long been seeking the extradition from the US of fugitive bankers, but the US refused to do this with the same speed that they demanded us to return Snowden to them”, said the president.

Statement of Quito that Ecuador is willing to finance the development of human rights in the United States will be perceived by the Americans particularly painful, commentators say. More than once, even the US media reported that Washington usually plays the role of defenders of human rights, pointing to other countries on the error, and now the US are on the unusual role.

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