The United States is preparing sanctions against Russia’s “secret first lady” Alina Kabaeva, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
She denied reports that Washington deliberately refrained from sanctioning a woman believed to be the mistress of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We are still considering sanctions,” Psaki said, asking why former gymnast Alina Kabaeva has not yet been sanctioned.
“No one is immune from our sanctions. “We have already imposed sanctions on President Putin, as well as on his daughter and his closest friends, we are preparing new sanctions,” Psaki said.
In the United States, as elsewhere in the world, there are calls for sanctions against the 38-year-old Olympic gold medalist, as the United States did for two of Putin’s daughters.
The Russian president is extremely secretive about his personal life and has never admitted any romantic relationship with Kabaeva.
A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Washington deliberately did not impose sanctions on the former gymnast because of fears that Putin would take it as a personal attack.
“This will be seen as such a personal blow to Putin that it could lead to further escalation of tensions between Russia and the United States,” writes the Wall Street Journal.